iFrttm  X\\t  ICthrarg  td 

15? qu0atl|f  &  bg  l|tm  to 

ll|f  SItbrarg  txi 

^^rinrrton  Sljenlogtral  g^^mtttarg 

BV  811  .E8  ^ 

Etter,  JohnW.,  1846-1895. 
The  doctrine  of  Christian 
baptism 


THE  DOCTRINE 


OP 


Christian  Baptism 


An  Exposition  of  Its  Nature,  Subjects, 
Mode,  and  Duty. 


REV.  J.  W.  ETTER,  D.  D, 


DAYTON,  OHIO: 
Press  of  United  Brethren  Publishing-  House. 

1 888. 


COPYRIGHT,   1888, 

BY  Rev.  W.  J.  Shttey, 

DAYTON,  OHIO. 


Page  145.     Eleventh  line  from  bottom,  read,  |Qn. 

Tenth  line  from  bottom,  read,  mn^a  pxriV 
Page  172.     Sixth  line,  read  "y^ipM.     . 

Seventh  line  from  bottom,  read,  yn'^. 
Page  175.     Third  line,  read,  '3nn^3  biathathni. 

Same  line,  read,  baath. 


^Wi)^^' 


PREFACE. 


In  presenting  this  book  to  the  Christian  public,  I  have 
no  apology  to  offer  for  adding  to  the  numerous  volumes 
on  the  subjedl  of  Christian  baptism,  other  than  what 
would  appear  a  natural  expedlancy  that,  after  a  short 
respite  of  sedlional  controversy  on  certain  phases  of  bap- 
tism, the  time  has  come  for  some  one  to  state  the  present 
attitude  of  the  question,  "  What  is  the  nature,  mode,  and 
duty  of  Christian  baptism  as  accepted  by  a  large  majority 
of  Christian  scholars?  " 

No  systematic  treatise  on  Christian  baptism,  that  I 
know  of,  has  appeared  since  the  publication  in  this  coun- 
try of  the  Bryannios  manuscript,  which  throws  much 
additional  light  on  the  question  of  mode.  I  have,  there- 
fore, given  this  feature  of  my  subjedl  some  attention 
in  the  present  volume.  The  discussion  is  sufficiently 
amplified  and  simplified  to  make  it  intelligible  to  all 

ordinary'  readers. 

The  Author. 
Lebanon,  Pa.,  May  ig,  1888, 

V 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  rites  and  ceremonies  of  Christianity  are  neither 
numeroiis  nor  burdensome.  The  great  body  of  Protest- 
ants hold  that  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  include  all 
the  sacramental  ordinances  that  belong  to  the  Christian 
Church.  The  Roman  Catholics  have  added  five  others — 
Confirmation,  Penance,  Orders,  Matrimony,  and  Extreme 
Uncftion;  but  none  of  these  five  carry  with  them  the  true 
marks  of  a  sacrament.  Christian  sacraments  are  dis- 
tinguished from  superstitious  rites  by  three  marks,  (i.) 
They  were  ordained  by  Christ  himself.  (2,)  They  are 
signs  or  emblems.  (3.)  They  are  seals.  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  the  only  ordinances  that  bear  these 
marks,  and  hence  are  the  only  "sacramental  ordinances 
of  the  Christian  Church." 

The  mode,  design,  and  subjedls  of  Christian  baptism 
have,  during  many  centuries,  given  rise  to  an  untold 
amount  of  polemic  discussion.  Theologians  of  almost 
every  shade  of  belief  have  gone  into  the  field  of  contro- 
versy, and  when  they  have  exhausted  all  their  skill,  have 
left  the  subjedt  where  they  found  it — unsettled.  Every- 
thing essential  to  the  eternal  salvation  of  the  soul  is 
plainly  set  forth  in  the  word  of  God,  but  when  men  get 
out  into  the  realm  of  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  contend 
that  some  particular  virtue  inheres  in  the  manner   in 

vii 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

which,  certain  rites  or  ordinances  are  performed,  they  get 
into  difficulty  unless  the  form  is  specifically  set  forth  in 
the  Scriptures. 

The  nature,  design,  obligation,  and  efficacy  of  Christian 
baptism  should  be  carefully  studied  by  all  Christians,  and 
especially  by  Christian  ministers.  This  ordinance  comes 
to  us  by  Divine  authority.  When  our  Lord  commissioned 
his  disciples  to  go  out  and  preach  the  gospel  to  all  nations, 
he  also  commissioned  them  to  baptize.  The  command 
to  preach  is  no  more  authoritative  than  the  command  to 
baptize.  They  are  joined  together  in  the  great  commis- 
sion. "Here  we  date  the  divine  origin  of  baptism  as  a 
standing,  obligatory,  and  perpetual  ordinance  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Here  is  the  great  charter  from  which 
the  Christian  ministry  in  all  ages  drew  their  Divine  au- 
thority for  the  administration  of  this  ordinance." 

If  it  were  not  possible  for  us  to  know  anything  about 
the  nature,  design,  and  efficacy  of  this  ordinance,  this 
would  not  free  us  from  the  obligation,  because  the  Lord 
commands  it  to  be  done.  Abraham  did  not  understand 
the  design  of  the  Allwise  Father  when  he  commanded  him 
to  offer  up  Isaac  as  a  sacrifice,  but  that  did  not  prevent 
him  from  going  forward.  Obedience  was  his  rule  of 
adtion.  Our  Divine  Lord  says,  "If  ye  love  me  keep  my 
commandments."  Every  step  the  Christian  takes  along 
the  line  of  obedience  will  give  him  new  strength  and 
^gor.  The  faultless  Christ  was  careful  to  fulfill  every; 
righteous  ordinance  of  the  law,  thereby  teaching  us  the 
necessity  and  importance  of  obedience. 

From  one  cause  and  another  the  ordinance  of  baptism 
is  too  much  neglecfted  by  those  professing  to  be  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ.    Thousands  are  this  day  living  within 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

tlie  pale  of  the  visible  diurch  who  have  never  been  bap- 
tized. Ministers,  not  a  few,  who  have  gone  out  under  the 
great  commission,  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom, 
seldom  mention  the  subject  of  Christian  baptism.  They 
seem  to  forget  that  he  who  bade  them  go  and  preach  the 
gospel,  also  bade  them  baptize  in  the  ' '  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  to  be 
perpetuated  as  long  as  the  gospel  is  preached  and  the 
Christian  Church  continues.  In  the  face  of  this  truth,  it 
is  not  easy  to  understand  how  an  enlightened  Christian 
can  innocently,  either  negledl  or  refuse  to  obser\^e  this 
ordinance. 

With  respe(5l  to  the  mode  of  baptism  the  controversy 
has  been  long  and  fierce.  ' '  There  seems  to  be  but  one  way 
to  account  for  this,  and  that  is  that  the  mode  is  one  of  the 
minor  questions  connecfted  with  theological  polemics, 
concerning  which  Divine  inspiration  has  not  seen  proper 
to  furnish  us  explicit  and  positive  testimony." 

The  author  of  this  book  has  very  carefully  and  thought- 
fully gone  over  this  whole  field,  and  in  an  able  manner 
defended  the  faith  and  pracftice  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  He  has  treated  on  the  mode,  obligation,  design, 
and  subjedts  of  Christian  baptism  in  a  scholarl}^  manner. 
His  style  is  easy  as  well  as  entertaining,  and  cannot  fail 
to  interest  and  profit  all  who  may  read  it  with  care.  I 
therefore  most  cheerfully  and  heartily  commend  it  to 
Christians  everywhere,  and  especially  to  the  ministers 
and  members  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ. 

J.  Weavejr. 


RECOMMENDATION. 


Having  examined  the  manuscript  of  a  book,  written  by 
Rev.  J.  W.  Etter,  D.  D.,  on  the  subjedt  of  "Christian 
Baptism,"  we  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  his  discus- 
sions are  not  only  fair  to  those  who  may  dififer  with  him, 
but  able  and  convincing.  The  work  well  represents  the 
average  sentiment  of  our  Church,  and,  in  our  judgment, 
should  be  published. 


J.  Weaver. 
Z.  Warner. 


Dayton,  Ohio,  May  4, 1887. 
Dr.  Hott  concurs  in  this  report, 
xi 


CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 

THE   NATURE   OF   BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  BAPTISMS. 

Comprehensiveness  of  the  term  baptismos 23 

—  Of  heathen  and  non  religious  origin 24 

General  meaning  of  the  term  baptize 25 

CHAPTER  11. 

SPIRITUAL,    OR  REAL,   BAPTISM. 

Nature  of  spiritual  baptism  as  illustrated 27 

—  In  the  Old  Testament 27 

—  In  the  New  Testament 28 

—  In  the  Church  of  the  past  and  present 30 

CHAPTER  III. 

RITUAL  BAPTISM. 

Nature  of  ritual  baptism  as  distinguished  from  real 32 

—  Purification,  the  general  sense  of  Jewish  ritual  bap- 

tisms       2>o 

—  Deeper  significance  of  these  purifications  taught  by 

Christ 34 

—  Proselyte  baptism 35 

xiii 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

JOHN'S   RITUAL  BAPTISM. 

Nature  of  this  species  of  baptism  explained 36 

—  Repentance,  its  fundamental  idea 37 

—  A  mediation  between  the  Old  and  New  Testament 

theocracy 39 

—  Proof  that  John's  baptism  was  non-Christian 39 

CHAPTER  V. 

CHRIST'S   BAPTISM. 

A  unique  baptism,  distinguished  from  John's  and  the  Chris- 
tian baptism 41 

The  real  nature  of  Christ's  baptism 43 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHRISTIAN   RITUAL  BAPTISM. 

Origin  of  Christian  baptism 45 

Spiritual  baptism  a  prerequisite  for  Christian  ritual  baptism.  46 

Christian  baptism  defined  and  explained 47 

—  Not  an  instrument  of  grace  as  taught  by  the  Church 

of  Rome,  but  a  symbolic  ceremony  of  initiation  into 
the  visible  Church 52 


PART  II. 

THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM, 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHRISTIAN  ADULTS. 

Qualifications  for  adult  baptism 65 

I.     Faith  in  Christ 65 


CONTENTS.  XV 

2.  Some  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  dodlrines  of 

Christianity 66 

3.  A  life  of  obedience  and  Christian  pradlice 66 

A  credible  profession  and  promise  of  obedience  the  only 

external  evidence  of  such  qualifications 68 

CHAPTER   II. 

THE  INFANT  CHILDREN  OF  CHRISTIAN  PARENTS. 

Protest  of  the  Baptists 69 

^    Infant  baptism  a  legitimate  indudlion  from  the  teachings  of 

Scripture 71 

SECTION  I. 

The  Covenant  Relation  of  Children  to  the  Church. 

Proposition  I. — There  is  a  presumptive  and  induSiive  evi- 
deiice  that  the  infant  children  of  believing  parents 
are  eiititled  to  baptism^  because  of  the  covenant  rela- 
tion which  they  sustain  to  the  visible  Church 72 

First  Premise.— The  Christian  Church  of  the  New 
Testament  and  the  Jewish  Church  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament are  one  and  the  same 75 

Second  Premise. — Infant  children  of  believing  parents 
were  members  of  the  ancient  Jewish  Church  by 

virtue  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant    ,      75 

CONCLrsiON.— Therefore,  the  infant  children  of  to-day 
are  members  of  the  Church,  and  entitled  to  the 
V                 modern  ordinance  of  baptism,  tinless  the  script- 
ures of  the  New  Testament  teach  an5^thing  to  the 
contrary 81 

SECTION  II. 

Infant  Baptism  in  the  Apostolic  Church. 

Proposition  II.  —  There  is  a  presumptive  and  ifiduBive 
V  evidence  that  the  infants  of  professed  Christians  were 

baptized  in  the  Apostolic  Church 91 


y 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

1.  No  mention  being  made  in  the  New  Testament  of 

the  baptism  of  adult  Christians  raised  in  Christian 
families,  the  inference  is  that  they  received  the 
initiatory  rite  in  infancy 92 

2.  The  New  Testament  records  several  instances  of 

FAMILY  baptisms 94 

SECTION  III. 

Testimony  of  Church  Fathers. 

Proposition  III. —  The  testimony  of  the  early  Church  fa- 
thers corroborates  these  evide7ices  that  children  were 

baptized  in  the  Apostolic  Church 97 

1.  Justin  Martyr 97 

2.  Irenaeus 98 

3.  Tertullian 98 

4.  Origen 99 

5.  Ambrose ,.... 99 

6.  Cyprian ?>.....^..^,^..,^ 99 

7.  Augustine .4. ^.t....^^ 100 

100 


^elagius ^r.,\.-k.  .>:. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SOME  OBJECTIONS   TO   INFANT   BAPTISM   CONSIDERED. 

Baptism  should  not  be  administered  to  an  unconscious, 
especially  unregenerate,  person 103 

Infant  baptism  deprives  the  subjedl  of  the  rights  of  pri- 
vate j  udgment,  and,  therefore,  is  contrary  to  the  word 
of  God 105 

Faith  is  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  necessary  to  baptism; 
but  as  infants  cannot  believe,  therefore  they  should 
not  be  baptized 106 

If  infants  ought  to  be  baptized,  they  ought  also  to  be 
admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper 107 

Christ  was  not  baptized  in  infancy,  and  we  should,  like 
him,  wait  until  adult  years ill 


^  CONTENTS.  XVll 

6.  Persons  baptized  in  infancy  may,  after  their  conversion 

in  adult  years,  desire  to  be  rebaptized 112 

7.  As  infants  are  saved  without  baptism,  it  is  useless  to 

administer  it  to  them 114 

Whose  children  are  proper  subje<fls  for  baptism? 115 


PART  III. 

THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  MAIN   PROPOSITION   OF  DISCUSSION. 

I^iberalism  of  our  Article  of  Confession  on  Mode 121 

Controversial  nature  of  mode  unwarranted  by  Scripture 122 

The  Main  Proposition  of  Discussion. — Scripture  no- 
where teaches,  either  by  phraseology,  example,  or 
precept,  that  there  is  only  one  mode  of  baptism. 128 

CHAPTER   II. 
discussion  of  the  word  baptize. 
First  Sub-Proposition. — Modalism,  ca^mot  be  proved from^ 

the  word  baptizo 131 

lyeading  Baptists  insist  on  a  univocal  definition  of  the 

word 131 

SECTION  I. 

Classic  Literature. 

I.  In  this  department  of  literature  the  word  means:  (i.)  To 
dip.  (2.)  To  dye  or  tinge.  (3.)  To  wash  or  be  wave- 
beaten.  (4.)  To  sink.  (5.)  To  immerse.  (6.)  To  bury. 
(7.)  To  immerse  partly.  (8.)  To  drown.  (9.)  To  make 
drunk.  (10.)  To  stupefy.  (11.)  To  overpower  or  over- 
whelm.   (12.)  To  sprinkle,  etc 135 


XVlll  CONTEXTS. 

2.  Impossibility  of  proving  the  Baptists'  univocal  definition.     142 

3.  Dr.  Dale's  modern  definition  approved 144 

SECTION  II. 
Transition  from  Secular  to  Sacred, 

1.  Dr.  Carson's  radical  position 14S 

2.  New  meanings  given  to  many  classic  words  by  the  New 

Testament  writers 15c 

First, — The  New  Testament  Greek  is  almost  a  distinct 

and  independent  dialedl i5f 

Second. — The  inspired  writers  used  current  Greek  words 
to  express  ideas  of  which  classic  heat.  1  en  had  no 
knowledge.     Examples  :    DeipJion^  arete,  charts, 
ekklesia,  paliggenesia  ;  Acls  23:8 151 

3.  Reason  for  changing  and  modifying  the  classic  use  of 

the  word  baptizo 154 

SECTION  III. 

Sacred  Literature. 

Various  meanings  of  the  word 156 

1.  In  the  New  Testament :    (i.)  To  wash.    (2.)  To  sanc- 

tify or  inspire.     (3. )  To  endure  or  suffer.    (4.)  To 
initiate 156 

2.  In  the  Old  Testament :    (i.)  To  wet  or  moisten.    (2.) 

To  dip,  plunge,  immerse.     (3.)  To  terrify 170 

3.  In  the  Apocrypha 176 

4.  In  patristic  literature 177 

5.  In  various  versions  of  the  Bible 182 

6.  Testimony  of  eminent  authority 183 

—  Conclusion 187 

CHAPTER  III. 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  EXAMPLES  OF  BAPTISMS   RECORDED  IN  THE 
NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Second  Sub-Proposition. — Modalism  cannot  be  proved 
from  any  scriptural  example  of  the  ordinance  of 
baptism IS*^ 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

Introdudlory  remarks 190 

1.  Jolin's  baptism 191 

2.  Baptism  of  Jesus  by  John 198 

3.  Baptism  of  three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  207 

4.  Baptism  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch 218 

5.  Saul's  baptism. 220 

6.  Baptism  of  Cornelius  and  his  friends 221 

7.  Other  miscellaneous  examples 223 

—  Conclusion  225 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PRECEPTS  AND  TEACHINGS   ON   MODE  EXAMINED. 

Third  Sub-Proposition. — Modalism.  cannot  be  proved  by 

any  precept  or  teaching  of  the  sacred  Scriptures 227 

Modalism  lacks  the  important  requisite  of  scriptural  sanc- 
tion, and  therefore  tends  to  Romanism 227 

Passages  of  scripture  used  to  support  modalism  considered.  229 

1.  I.  Peter  3  :  21 229 

2.  Rom.  6  :  3,  4  ;  Col.  2  ;  12;  I.  Cor.  15  :  29 232 

3.  Ezek.  36:25;  Isa.  52  :  15,  etc 238 

4.  Isa.  44  :  3  ;  Joel  2  :  28,  29 240 

—  Conclusion 241 

—  General  conclusion  on  mode 242 

CHAPTER  V. 

ADDITIONAL   REMARKS   UPON   MODE. 

History  testifies  that  in  the  early  Church  immersion  was  the 

rule,  while  sprinkling  or  pouring  was  the  exception...  245 

After  the  thirteenth  century  sprinkling  became  the  rule,  and 

immersion  the  exception 249 

The  recently  discovered  manuscript  entitled,  "The  Teach- 
ings of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  the  best  historical  evi- 
dence on  liberalism  of  mode 251 

The  many  unwarranted  ceremonies  added  to  immersion  by 

the  early  Church 257 

Christian  art  in  favor  of  liberalism 258 


XX  CONTENTS. 

PART  IV. 

THE  ETHICS   OF   BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DUTY  OF  OBSERVING  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM. 

Inexcusable  laxity  in  the  observance  of  this  sacrament 267 

Our  obligation  rests  upon  the  following  considerations  : 

1.  The  nature  of  this  solemn  institution 269 

2.  Baptism  is  a  mode  of  confession 274 

3.  The  example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles 275 

4.  The  command  of  Christ  to  his  apostles 278 

First.     His  command  an  expression  of  his  will 281 

Second.    Obedience  an  expression  of  our  love  for 

him 282 

5.  Conscience  pleads  for  obedience -. ^3 


The  Doctrine  of  Christian  Baptism. 


Fjf!Lp2.T    I. 


TIE  NITURE  OF  BSPTISM. 


21 


THE  NSTURE  OF  BIPTISM. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE   DOCTRINE    OF    BAPTISMS. 

The  general  term  iiaTZTLoiidg  (baptismos),  baptism, 
lias  a  very  broad  application.  Paul  speaks  of  the 
"^doctrine  of  baptisms"  (Heb.  6:  2),  and  of  "divers 
washings,"  ,3a-Ti(rfioc  (haiJtismoi)^  (Heb.  9:  10),  re- 
stricting its  use,  no  doubt,  to  the  various  religious 
rites  in  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  churches. 
But  the  "doctrine  of  baptisms"  pervades  both 
classical  and  biblical  literature  ;  and,  in  its  ge- 
neric sense,  is  not  an  idea  peculiar  to  Christianity 
alone.  It  was  known  as  early  as  the  days  of  Ho- 
m.er  and  Elijah,  or  about  nine  hundred  years  be- 
fore Christ.  It  was  used  by  Pindar  500  b.  c,  who 
was  contemporary  with  Ezra,  the  priest.  Aris- 
totle and  Plato  frequently  used  the  Avord  baptizo 
to  describe  acts  which,  in  external  form  as  well 
as  in  general  import,  were  not  identical,  but  were 
analogous  to  the  Christian  ordinance  of  baptism. 

23 


24  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

The  word  ^aTTTic/idg  (baptismos)  originated  among 
the  heathen.  Libanius,  a  Greek  philosopher,  390 
B.  c,  speaks  of  "Grief  baptizing  the  soul;"  and 
Evanus,  250  B.  c,  in  his  fifteenth  epigram,  says  of 
Bacchus,  the  great  god  of  wine,  that  "  He  bap- 
tized with  sleep,  the  neighbor  of  death."  Diodo- 
rus,  60  B.  c,  in  speaking  of  the  overflow  of  the 
river  iTile,  says,  "  The  greatest  number  of  the  wild 
animals,  overtaken  by  the  river,  perished,  being 
baptized."  The  writings  of  ancient  poets  and 
philosophers  abound  with  these  baptisms,  used  in 
numberless  ways  and  a  variety  of  applications, 
none  of  which,  however,  can  have  any  reference 
to  the  symbolic  use  of  our  Christian  baptism;  for 
they  were  penned  before  baptism  was  known  as 
an  ordinance  of  the  Christian  church. 

Nor  did  the  heathen  attach  to  them  (baptisms) 
any  religious  signification,  or  connect  them  with 
their  worship  of  the  gods.  Water  was  not  essen- 
tial, nor  necessarily  associated  with  their  idea  of 
baptisms.  Whatever  object  was  superinduced,  or 
affected  by  the  application  of  any  influence,  ma- 
terial or  immaterial,  was  said  to  be  baptized.  The 
doctrine  of  baptisms  originally  was  non-theolog- 
ical. Hence  all  systems  of  faith,  such  as  atheism, 
pantheism,  Mohammedanism,  Buddhism,  Mor- 
monism,  Judaism,  etc.,  recognize  this  use  of  the 


THE   NATURE    OF    BAPTISM.  25 

term,  and  accept  in  common  this  classic  notion  of 
baptisms.  The  term  is  international  and  inter- 
denominational, and  has  been  current  in  all  ages. 
Jewish  historians  and  philosophers  like  Jose- 
phus  and  Philo,  as  well  as  the  early  Church  fathers, 
held,  among  them,  the  doctrine  of  baptisms  de- 
rived from  the  ancients.  They  speak  of  cities 
baptized  by  robbers,  reason  baptized  by  gluttony 
and  drink,  waters  of  creation  baptized  by  the 
Spirit,  the  earth  baptized  by  the  deluge,  of  bap- 
tism by  circumcision,  confession,  repentance,  in- 
iquity, misfortune,  etc.  Christ  speaks  of  his 
baptism  of  suffering.  Innumerable  as  are  these 
baptisms  in  number  and  in  kind,  they  can,  how- 
ever, be  generalized  under  one  head  so  as  to  form 
one  collective  idea,  or  common  conception  of  bap- 
tisms. The  generic  has  many  species.  When  we 
speak  of  classic.  Judaic,  Johannic,  or  Christian 
baptism  respectively,  we  speak  of  a  doctrine  of 
baptism  as  a  specific  branch  out  of  the  genetic 
stem. 

The  general  "doctrine  of  baptisms"  may  be 
defined  in  the  words  of  Dr.  James  W".  Dale: 
"  Whatever  act  is  capable  of  thoroughly  chang- 
ing the  character,  state,  or  condition,  of  any 
object,  hy  'placing  it  in  a  state  of  physical  interpo- 
sition, is  capable  of  baptizing  that  object ;  and 


26  THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

whatever  influenee  is  capable  of  thoroughly  chang- 
ing the  character,  state,  or  condition,  of  any  ob- 
ject, by  pervading  it  and  making  it  subject  to  its 
own  characteristic,  is  capable  of  baptizing  that 
object;  and  by  such  changes  of  character,  state, 
or  condition,  these  acts  and  influences  do,  in  fact^ 
baptize  their  objects."  ("Judaic  Baptism,"  p.  57.) 
A  careful  examination  of  the  term,  baptize,  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  whatever  exerts  a  complete 
effect,  or  controlling  influence,  is  a  baptism;  and  it 
is  on  this  general  idea  that  all  doctrines  of  bap- 
tism are  based. 


THE   NATURE   OF   BAPTISM.  27 

CHAPTER  II. 

SPIRITUAL    OR   REAL   BAPTISM. 

Under  the  general  definition  of  baptism,  we 
will  first  describe  such  special  kinds  of  baptisms 
as  have  a  religious  application,  and  bear  upon 
Christian  baptism;  but  which,  however,  are  dis- 
tinguished from  Christian  baptism. 

Spiritual  baptism  is  an  efi^ect  produced  upon 
men  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  agent,  men  are  the  objects;  and 
the  influence  which  the  former  may  exert  upon 
the  latter,  is  a  spiritual  baptism.  It  is  the  highest 
type — the  only  real  baptism  spoken  of  in  the 
Scriptures. 

The  spiritual  operations  of  the  Paraclete  among 
God's  chosen  people,  j_s^  prominent  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. Of  Bezaleel  it  is  said,  "  I  have  filled  him 
with  the  spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  under- 
standing, and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of 
workmanship"  (Ex.  31:  3).  Moses  was  divinely 
endowed  for  his  high  calling;  and  when  part  of 
his  duties  was  shared  by  the  seventy  elders,  it 
was  said,  "  I  will  take  of  the  spirit  which  is  upon 


28  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

thee,  and  will  put  it  upon  them"  (ISTum.  11: 17). 
Joshua,  Moses'  successor,  was  one  "in  whom  is 
the  spirit."  (See  Num.  27: 18.)  Judges  and  kings 
shared  this  holy  influence.  When  Samuel  anointed 
David,  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  David 
from  that  day  forward"  (I.  Sam.  16:  13);  and  it 
is  also  said  to  have  departed  from  Saul.  Prophets 
uttered  maledictions,  delivered  messages,  and  an- 
nounced coming  events,  through  the  influence  of 
the  same  Spirit.  The  writers  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
All  these  manifestations  of  the  Spirit's  influence, 
acting  upon  the  minds  of  men,  whether  by  teach- 
ing, comforting,  sanctifying,  guiding,  or  inspiring 
them,  are  only  different  ways  of  expressing  a 
spiritual  baptism,  which  we  understand  to  mean  a 
holy  unction,  a  peculiar  animation  received  from 
on  high. 

In  the  l^ew  Testament  this  divine  endowment 
is  designated  by  the  proper  name — baptism.  John 
the  Baptist,  speaking  of  the  special  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  should  follow  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ,  says,  "He  that  cometh  af- 
ter me  .  .  .  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  with  fire"  (Matt.  3: 11).  We  know  in  what 
this  baptism  by  the  "Holy  Ghost"  consisted;  but 
it  has  become  a  question  what  the  baptism  of 


THE   NATURE   OP   BAPTISM.  29 

"  fire,"  here  mentioned,  means.  Some  of  the  early 
Church  fathers  made  it  to  mean  hell-fire ;  others, 
like  Hilary,  Ambrose,  and  Origen,  gave  it  a  pur- 
gatorial sense,  believing  it  to  mean  a  purifying 
fire  through  which  the  faithful  shall  pass  before 
entering  heaven;  others  say,  it  is  a  figure  for 
tribulation,  penitence,  etc.;  but  the  most  probable 
explanation  is,  that  "  fire,"  in  this  passage,  is  used 
as  a  hendiadys,  and  is  epexegetical  or  explanatory 
of  the  words,  "  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  sense 
will,  therefore,  be,  "He  shall  baptize  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  the  outward  symbol  of  fire," 
viz.,  "cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire"  (Acts  2:  3), 
fire  being  one  of  the  scriptural  emblems  of  puri- 
fication. (See  Isa.  4:4;  Jer.  5:14;  Mai.  3:2; 
Acts  2:  3.) 

Christ  frequently  reminded  his  followers  of  this 
special  exhibition  of  real  baptism,  foretold  by  his 
forerunner  John.  "John  truly  baptized  with 
water;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  "  Tarry  ye  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with  power 
from  on  high."  "  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  af- 
ter that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you."  On 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  one  hundred  and  twenty, 
with  soul,  body,  and  spirit  aglow  with  celestial 
fire,  were  "  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."    What 


30  THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

a  baptism  was  that!  What  a  controlling  influ- 
ence did  it  have  over  the  baptized  !  Peter,  timid 
in  Pilate's  hall,  becomes  an  immovable  "rock" 
before  the  threatening  Council.  They  all  speak 
other  tongues  that  are  familiar  to  strangers  pres- 
ent at  Jerusalem.  They  perform  miracles,  and 
preach  with  new  power.  They  were  baptized 
with  miraculous  gifts  and  burning  zeal. 

This  extraordinary  baptism,  as  a  preparatory 
endowment  for  promulgating  the  gospel,  has,  for 
the  last  eighteen  centuries,  been  followed  by  mmoa>- 
baptisms  of  the  same  Spirit,  descending  upon  men 
singly  or  collectively;  and  producing  spiritual 
changes,  similar  in  kind,  but  different  in  degree. 
Ever  since  Christ  breathed  upon  the  disheartened 
disciples  assembled  in  the  bolted  chamber,  saying, 
"Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost,"  there  have  been 
many  such  holy  infusions,  or  spiritual  baptisms, 
in  lonely  cottages  and  crowded  sanctuaries,  trans- 
forming sinners  into  saints,  and  ingrafting  them 
into  the  true  Vine  of  the  Church;  "Por  by  one 
Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body"  (I.  Cor. 

12:13). 

The  baptism  upon  an  individual  is  a  divine 
quickening  of  the  soul,  a  complete  change  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  state,  resulting  in  regenera- 
tion of  life  and   sanctilication  of  the  soul.     He 


THE   NATUEE    OF    BAPTISM.  31 

that  has  not  yet  received  this  spiritual  anointing, 
has  not  yet  assumed  the  Christian  life.  "For  as 
many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ 
have  put  on  Christ"  (Gal.  3:  27).  "If  any  man 
have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his" 
(Rom.  8:9). 


32  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  III. 

RITUAL .  BAPTISM. 

This  is  a  symbolic  ceremony  of  a  spiritual  bap- 
tism,—  an  adopted  visible  act  which  is  understood 
to  adumbrate  an  inner  state  of  heart.  It  is  a  hu- 
man act,  employs  material!  emblems,  is  applied  to 
the  physical  body,  and,  in  itself,  can  accomplish 
no  moral  or  spiritual  change  in  the  recipient.  It 
is  entirely  ritual,  but  symbolizes  the  real.  The 
former  is  related  to  the  latter,  as  shadow  and  sub- 
stance; and,  therefore,  in  both  time  and  import- 
ance, must  never  precede  but  follow  it,  and  can 
be  of  no  value  without  its  antecedent  reality.  A 
shadow  must  proceed  from  a  substance,  a  sign 
must  signify  a  thing.  The  real  is  preparatory  to 
the  ritual.  The  latter  is  not  necessary  to  the 
former,  but  the  former  is  necessary  to  the  latter. 
The  former  without  the  latter  would  be  genuine, 
but  the  latter  without  the  former  would  be  base 
hypocrisy. 

But  ritual  baptism  is  a  general  rite  which  in- 
cludes all  forms  of  ceremonial  baptism,  and  was 
often  applied  to  material  objects  as  well  as  to  liv- 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  33 

ing  beings.  The  symbolizing  element  used  in  the 
ritual  was  water,  blood,  or  ashes.  The  thing  sym- 
bolized, in  the  most  general  sense,  was  purifica- 
tion. Water,  blood,  and  ashes  are  all  significant 
emblems  of  cleansing,  and  were  employed  by  the 
Jews  in  their  ritual  ablutions.  These  baptisms 
for  ceremonial  cleansing  sprang  from  the  usage 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  were  in  common  use  for 
hundreds  of  years  before  the  institution  of  Chris- 
tian baptism.  Paul  refers  to  them  in  Hebrews  9 : 
10,  where  he  speaks  of  the  Jewish  ritual  service 
which  "stood  only  in  meats,  and  drinks,  and 
divers  washings;"  and  these  "divers  washings," 
or  baptisms,  were  all  ceremonial.  Some,  for  the 
cleansing  of  a  leper  (Lev.  14:  2-9),  or  of  an  un- 
clean person  (^um.  19: 17-19),  and  others  for  con- 
secration of  a  Levite  before  entering  upon  the 
functions  of  his  office  (E"um.  8:  6,  7).  We  also 
read  of  ablutions  by  the  washing  of  Aaron  and 
his  sons  before  anointing  them  with  the  holy  oil 
(Lev.  8:6);  ablutions  of  priests  before  approach- 
ing the  altar  of  God  (Ex.  30:  17-21),  to  which 
David,  no  doubt,  referred  when  he  said,  "I  will 
wash  mine  hands  in  innocency:  so  will  I  com- 
pass thine  altar"  (Psa.  26:  6).  For  the  expia- 
tion of  an  unknown  murder,  the  elders  of  the 
nearest  village  washed  their  hands  over  a  heifer, 


34  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

beheaded  in  the  valley,  saying,  "  Our  hands  have 
not  shed  this  blood,  neither  have  our  eyes  seen 
it"  (Dent.  21:  1-9);  and,  perhaps,  in  conformity 
with  this  Jewish  custom,  Pilate  washed  his  hands 
in  water,  as  a  declaration  of  his  innocence  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus.  (Matt.  27 :  24.)  These  ceremonies 
signified  cleansing.  It  was  the  "  blood  of  bulla 
and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  an  heifer  spiink- 
ling  the  unclean,"  which,  symbolically,  "sancti- 
fieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh"  (Heb.  9:13). 

In  Christ's  time,  the  deeper  significance  of  thia 
inward  cleansing  through  the  blood  of  the  atone' 
ment,  as  symbolized  by  baptism,  was  not  under' 
stood  by  the  Jews;  and  hence,  John's  baptism 
gave  rise  to  a  dispute  between  John's  disciples 
and  the  Jews  concerning  _29itn/?/m^  (John  3 :  25) ; 
and  when  Christ  said  to  Mcodemus,  "Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (John  3:5), 
he  would  teach  that,  to  be  cleansed  externally  and 
ceremonially  as  a  Jew,  one  must  also  be  internally 
regenerated,  and  spiritually  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

In  the  language  of  the  prophets,  cleansing  with 
water  is  used  as  an  emblem  of  the  purification  of 
the  heart,  which,  in  the  Messianic  age,  is  to  glo- 
rify the  soul  within,  and  embrace  the  whole  of 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  ^6 

the  theocratic  nation.     (Ezek.  36:  25  ff.;    Zeeh 
13:1.) 

In  the  time  of  the  Pharisees,  these  ceremoiiial 
baptisms  became  excessive  through  their  affecta- 
tion of  extraordinary  purity,  insomuch  that  Christ 
reproved  them  for  this  hypocrisy  involved  in  their 
fastidious  adherence  to  external  rites  of  moral 
purity,  while  the  heart  was  utterly  unclean.  (Matt 
23:  25.) 

Proselyte  baptism  was  an  established  rite  among 
the  Jews,  before  and  during  Christ's  time.  This 
Jewish  rite  was  probably,  originally,  only  a  puri- 
fying ceremony,  and  was  subsequently  raised  to 
the  character  of  an  initiating  and  indispensable 
rite,  co-ordinate  with  that  of  circumcision  and 
sacrifice. 


36  THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

•       CHAPTER  lY. 
John's  ritual  baptism. 

In  further  preparing  the  way  for  the  discussion 
of  our  subject  proper,  we  will  select,  from  the  vast 
catalogue  of  ritual  baptisms,  two  preparatory, 
religious  rites,  which  are  called  water  baptisms; 
because  water,  —  not  blood  and  ashes,  —  is  the 
symbolizing  element;  and  because  they  constitute 
the  first  rudiments  of  Christian  baptism.  These 
are  John's  baptism  and  Christ's  baptism. 

John  was  the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
phets. He  came  in  the  spirit  of  Elijah,  pointing 
the  Jews  to  the  coming  Christ.  John's  titular 
name,  "Baptist,"  was  given  him  because  of  the 
prominence  that  was  given  to  the  ordinance  of 
his  baptism;  and  the  qualifying  name,  John^s,  is 
used,  not  to  designate  the  particular  administrator, 
but  the  distinctive  nature  of  his  baptism.  Peter's 
baptism,  Paul's  baptism,  Philip's  baptism,  etc.,  do 
not  represent  difi'erent  kinds  of  baptism,  but  one; 
while  John's  name  is  associated  with  a  rite  that 
is  sui  generis. 

It  is  the  common  opinion  that  John  the  Baptist 


THE   NATURE    OF    BAPTISM.  37 

did  not  introduce  a  new  rite,  but  only  gave  it  a 
new  meaning.  In  his  time,  many  baptisms  were 
common  among  the  Jews,  especially  the  custom 
of  baptizing  proselytes,  and  John's  baptism  was, 
therefore,  not  considered  by  the  Jews  as  an  inno- 
vation. Proselyte  baptism  arose  gradually  out  of 
the  Jewish  habit  of  purifying  by  ablution;  and, 
for  the  first  time,  was  raised  to  the  importance  of 
an  initiatory  ordinance  co-ordinate  with  that  of 
sacrifice  and  circumcision,  after  the  temple  serv- 
ice, and  when,  in  consequence  of  imperial  edicts, 
it  became  difficult  to  circumcise  converts.  John's 
baptism  symbolized  neither  purification  nor  spirit- 
ual regeneration.  It  was  not  for  the  purpose  of 
ceremonial  cleansing,  therefore  not  Jewish.  It 
was  not  into  Christ,  therefore  not  Christian.  It  was 
transitional  from  the  old  dispensation  to  the  new. 
It  had  not  the  character  of  an  immediate,  but 
merely  of  a  preparatory  consecration  for  the  glo- 
rified kingdom.  Hence,  when  Paul  found,  at 
Ephesus,  certain  disciples  who  had  received  only 
John's  baptism,  they  were  baptized  "  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus."     (Acts  19 :  2-5.) 

John's  baptism  signified  repentance.  He  came 
"  preaching  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins"  (Luke  3:  3).  The  sum  of  all  his 
work  of  teaching,  and  the  cardinal  points  of  his 


38  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CilRI.SJ.AN    BAPTISM. 

preaching,  are  briefly  contained  in  his  first  start- 
ling exhortation,  "  Repent  ye :  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand."  His  doctrine  consisted  of 
the  real  baptism  of  repentance,  not  mere  legal 
ablution  or  expiation,  the  performance  of  exter- 
nal ceremonies  which  the  self-righteous  Pharisee 
deemed  sufficient  to  secure  for  him  a  participation 
in  the  kingdom  of  God;  but  a  godly  sorrow  for  sin 
as  a  preparatory  condition  for  the  remission  of  sin, 
and  for  the  sanctifying  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  Christ  was  about  to  send  upon  the  world. 
His  cry  was,  '^Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  his  paths  straight."  "  Bring  forth  therefore 
fruits  meet  for  repentance.  ...  I  indeed  bap- 
tize you  with  water  unto  repentance:  but  he  that 
Cometh  after  me  .  .  .  shall  baptize  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  with  lire."  The  baptism  of  true 
repentance  must  precede  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit. 
John's  ritual  baptism,  therefore,  was  a  symbol 
of  his  preaching.  He  preached  the  ''  baptism  of 
repentance,"  and  "  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  re- 
pentance" (Acts  19:  4).  As  a  visible  sign  to  the 
people,  it  expressed  a  distinct  acknowledgment 
and  hearty  renunciation  of  sin,  and  a  real  amend- 
ment of  life,  all  of  which  were  necessary  for  ad- 
mission into  the  kingdom  which  John  proclaimed 
to  be  at  hand. 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  39 

Hence,  John's  ministry  of  baptism  was  a  medi- 
ation between  the  Old  and  ^ew  Testament  the- 
ocracy,—  a  stepping-stone  from  the  Judaic  to  the 
Messianic  form.  The  fundamental  diflerence  be- 
tween the  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ  and  that 
of  his  forerunner,  was,  that  of  the  presence  in 
the  one  case,  and  the  absence  in  the  other,  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  (Matt.  3: 11.)  Their  closest  approxi- 
mate correlation  consists  in  a  blending  of  the  two 
essential  processes  of  initiation  into  Christ,  name- 
ly, repentance  and  regeneration:  and  their  rela- 
tion to  each  other  as  antecedent  and  consequent, 
the  latter  being  sequel  to  the  former.  Hence 
Christian  baptism  is  a  complement  to  John's  bap- 
tism. "What  was  lacking  in  the  one  is  found  in 
the  other. 

That  John's  baptism,  then,  was  not  Christian,  is 
evident:  (1.)  Because  it  was  practiced  six  months 
before  Christ  entered  upon  his  public  ministry, 
and,  therefore,  before  the  Christian  Church  was 
established.  (2.)  Because  it  was  not  administered 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity.  (3.)  Because  it  was 
not  a  rite  of  initiation  into  the  Church.  Those  of 
Jerusalem,  and  all  the  people  of  Judea,  Phari- 
sees, and  others,  who  were  baptized  by  John, 
were  not,  therefore,  acknowledged  as  professing 
Christians.     (4.)  Because  it  was  a  baptism  unto 


40  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

repentance,  and  only  prepared  them  for  the  be- 
ginning of  Christ's  grace  in  the  heart.  (5.)  Be- 
cause those  who  had  received  only  John's  baptism 
were  again  baptized  by  Paul.  (Acts  18 :  24-26 ;  19 : 
1-7.)  Of  the  multitude  who  were  converted  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  many,  no  doubt,  had  been 
baptized  by  John,  and  yet  they  were  re-baptized 
into  the  Christian  faith. 


THE   NATURE    OE   BAPTISM.  41 


CHAPTER  Y. 

Christ's  baptism. 

It  is  said  in  Mark  1:  9,  Jesus  "was  baptized  of 
John." 

This  baptism  is  unique  and  exceptional.  As 
an  example,  it  stands  alone,  is  unlike  all  others, 
and  cannot  be  classified  with  any  known  order 
of  baptisms  any  more  than  Christ's  of&ce  of 
mediatorial  Messiahship  can  be  compared  with 
anything  known  in  human  or  angelic  adminis- 
tration. 

In  general  character,  it  was  not  reformatory 
like  John's  baptism,  but  rather  initiatory  like 
the  Christian  ordinance;  but  in  special  design  it 
essentially  differed  from  both.  John,  who  was 
Christ's  kinsman  by  birth,  the  last  prophet  of  the 
old  dispensation,  and  the  first  herald  of  the  new, 
baptized  his  disciples  "  confessing  their  sins  J'  But 
Christ  was  without  sin,  and  therefore  needed  no 
baptism  of  repentance  "  for  the  remission  of  sins," 
which  was  patent  to  John,  who  remonstrated 
against  Christ's  request  to  be  baptized  by  him, 


42  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

saying,  "I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and 
comest  thou  to  me  ?" — the  sinless  Master  to  the 
sinful  servant!  Christ's  courteous  answer,  "Suf- 
fer it  to  be  so  now,"  concedes  the  propriety  of 
John's  objection,  and  implies  that,  in  this  case, 
the  act  would  be  an  exception  to  every  one  of  the 
many  who  came  to  be  baptized  by  him ;  but  that 
it  was  in  fulfillment  of  "  all  righteousness,"  upon 
which  he  was  now  about  to  enter  publicly. 

This  baptism  is  recorded  by  Luke  as  notably 
distinguished  from  all  the  rest,  when  he  says, 
"  ^o^Y  when  all  the  people  were  baptized,  it  came  to 
pass,  that  Jesus  also  being  baptized,  etc.,"  imply- 
ing that  Jesus  waited  until  all  other  applicants  for 
baptism  that  day  had  been  disposed  of  ere  he 
presented  himself,  that  he  might  not  seem  to  be 
merely  one  of  the  crowd.  "  Thus,  as  he  rode  into 
Jerusalem  on  an  ass,  'whereon  yet  never  man 
sat'  (Luke  19:  30),  so  now  he  shall  lie  in  a  'sepul- 
chre wherein  was  never  man  yet  laid'"  (John  19: 
41),  so  in  his  baptism,  too,  He  would  be  "  separate 
from  sinners."  ^ 

Kor  was  Christ's  baptism  of  a  Christian  nature 
as  symbolic  of  the  new  birth.  The  most  essen- 
tial ideas  conveyed  in  the  Christian  ordinance  are 
not  at  all  applicable  to  the  person  of  Christ.    To 

1.  Jamieson,  Fausset,  and  Brown's  Commentaries,  in  loco. 


THE  NATURE   OP  BAPTISM.  43 

him  it  was  neither  a  sign,  shadowing  forth  inward 
cleansing  from  the  defilement  of  sin,  nor  a  seal  of 
covenant  fidelity.  It  was  an  act  of  righteousness 
performed  before  Christian  baptism  was  institu- 
ted ;  and  could  not  have  been  a  baptism  in  the 
name  of  the  Trinity,  which  would  have  been  an 
irrelevant  and  trifling  act. 

Christ's  baptism  was  a  ceremonial  inaugura- 
tion into  his  great  Messianic  career.  The  three 
crowning  years  of  his  life  were  prefaced  by  thirty 
years  of  quiet,  thoughtful  days  of  preparation; 
and,  now,  when  the  time  had  come  for  his  public 
induction  into  his  mediatorial  work,  he  comes  to 
his  forerunner,  as  the  only  acknowledged  prophet 
extant  who  was  empowered  to  administer  what 
should  be  equivalent  to  the  holy  anointing  oil  of 
the  kingly  and  priestly  office,  and  asks  to  receive 
from  John  an  initiatory  rite  which  would  intro- 
duce him  into  his  office  as  the  Melchizedek  of  the 
new  dispensation.  A  divine  attestation,  both  in 
a  visible  (the  Dove),  and  an  audible  (the  Bath- 
Kol),  form,  was  publicly  given  as  to  the  sacred 
character  of  Jesus,  and  the  unique  nature  of  the 
ordinance. 

The  simultaneous  occurrence  of  the  application 
of  water,  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
made  Christ's  baptism  both  ritual  and  spiritual. 


44  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

All  in  all,  it  was  a  direct  and  immediate  consecra- 
tion, indicating  the  commencement  in  the  career 
of  the  Founder  of  the  new  theocracy,  which  be- 
gan at  his  baptism  and  ended  upon  the  cross, 
where  he  said.  "  It  is  finished.'' 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  45 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHRISTIAN    RITUAL    BAPTISM. 

We  now  come  to  that  kind  of  baptism  which 
is  to  form  the  subject  of  our  present  discussion. 

It  is  called  "  Christian,"  because  it  was  institu- 
ted by  Christ  (Matt.  28:  19),  is  an  ordinance  of 
the  religious  organization  founded  by  him,  and 
signifies  that  saving  faith  in  him,  by  the  exercise 
of  which  the  believer  is  inwardly  cleansed  and 
renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  admitted  to  the 
spiritual  community  known  as  Christians.  John's 
baptism  did  not  make  his  followers  Christians, 
but  pointed  them  to  the  One  who  "  taketh  away 
the  sins  of  the  world."  It  was  a  preparation  for 
the  real  baptism. 

Its  origin  was,  therefore,  subsequent  to  John's 
time,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  record  of  our  Lord's 
life,  and  the  writings  and  practices  of  his  apostles. 
Properly,  it  began  after  the  resurrection,  and  the 
mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  Christ  himself  ever  baptized,  though  his  dis- 
ciples exercised  that  function  by  deputation  (John 
4:  1,  2);  nor  is  there  evidence  that  any  of  the 


«v 


46  THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

apostles  received  the  symbol  of  Christian  bap- 
tism, though  some  of  the  early  disciples,  in  imi- 
tation of  Christ,  may  have  been  baptized  by  John, 
(John  1:  35-40). 

What  was  the  nature  of  the  baptism  under 
Christ's  administration  at  ^non,  is  not  clearly 
taught.  (See  John  3 :  22,  23.)  But  after  the  resur- 
rection, when  the  Church  received  her  new  and 
high  commission,  Christian  baptism  was  author- 
ized as  a  positive  and  perpetual  institution,  in  the 
command,  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  na- 
tions, baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Matt. 
28:  19).  Here  we  have  the  creed  as  well  as  the 
formula, — "m  the  name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.''  And,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  when  the  Church  received  consummate 
endowment  for  her  future  mission,  Peter  enjoined 
his  Master's  orders  on  every  one,  to  be  baptized 
"  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ "  (Acts  2:38).  The 
three  thousand,  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  gospel 
preached  in  the  Christian  Church,  were  baptized. 
From  that  time  on,  the  disciples  went  everywhere, 
preaching  and  baptizing  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 

In  the  new  dispensation  of  grace,  true,  spiritual 
baptism  is  considered  a  prerequisite  for  Christian 
ritual  baptism.     Peter  said,  concerning  Cornelius 


THE    NATURE    OF    BAPTISM.  47 

and  his  friends,  "  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  tliat 
these  should  not  be  baptized,  which  have  received 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we?"  The  baptism  of 
the  Spirit  must  precede  the  baptism  of  water;  that 
of  the  soul  must  antedate  that  of  the  body.  Other- 
wise the  Christian  ordinance  would  be  without 
effect  or  meaning,  as  in  the  case  of  Simon  Magus 
(Acts  8:  9-23),  who,  though  he  was  outwardly 
baptized,  nevertheless,  was  declared  to  be  "  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity." 
His  was  merely  speculative  assent,  without  true, 
saving  faith.  Character  is  not  effected  by  the  out- 
ward symbol  of  water,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but 
this  symbol  is  the  appointed  rite  of  initiation  into 
Christ's  Church,  and  becomes  a  means  of  grace 
like  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  prayer,  and  the 
Word  of  God,  only  after  we  have  received  the 
inward  baptism.  We  must  distinguish  between 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified. 

What,  now,  is  the  nature  and  design  of  Chris- 
tian ritual  baptism  ? 

It  is  a  symbolic  ceremony  of  initiation  into  Chrisfs  \ 
visible  Church;  and,  by  divine  ajppointment,  becomes  \ 
a  means  of  grace,  whereby  our  title  to  covenant  bless-  \ 
ings  is  solemnly  confirmed.  \ 

No  saving  virtue  is  attached  to  the  mere  cere- 
mony.   It  is  no  direct  instrument  of  grace,  convey- 


48  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

iiig  regenerating  influence  through  the  function- 
ary channels  of  the  ordinance  by  some  objective, 
supernatural  power  belonging  to  it.  The  ten- 
dency of  ritualistic  Churches  is,  to  unduly  exalt 
ecclesiastical  ceremonies.  The  Jewish  Church,  in 
the  time  of  Christ,  had  become  so  extremely  ritu- 
alistic as  to  substitute  rites  and  ceremonies  for 
faith  and  practice.  "The  Reformation  was,  in 
its  essential  character,  a  protest  against  ritualism. 
It  proclaimed  salvation  by  a  living  faith,  which 
purified  the  heart,  in  opposition  to  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  by  rites  and  ceremonies.  .  .  .  Ritu- 
alism is  a  broad,  smooth,  and  easy  road  to  heaven, 
and  is  always  crowded.  It  was  much  easier  in 
Paul's  time  to  be  a  Jew  outwardly,  than  to  be 
one  inwardly;  and  circumcision  of  the  flesh  was  a 
slight  matter  when  compared  to  the  circumcision 
of  the  heart."  * 

It  is,  however,  no  empty  or  meaningless  rite,  in 
the  Zwinglian  sense,  as  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
show. 

Although  baptism  is  a  mere  ceremonial  act,  it 
is,  nevertheless,  symbolical^  pointing  for  its  efli- 
cacy,  not  to  the  symbol,  but  to  the  thing  sym- 
bolized. 

A  symbol  (from  avv  and  /5aAAw,  to  throw  together, 

1.  Dr.  C.  Hodge,  "  Systematic  Theology."    Vol.  III.,  p.  583. 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  49 

^.  e.,  by  comparison)  is  a  visible  sign,  or  repre- 
sentation of  something  spiritual,  by  the  figure  or 
property  of  something  natural.  Symbols  are  in- 
tended to  represent  revealed  doctrines.  Thus, 
the  temple,  with  its  utensils  and  services,  was  the 
shadow,  having  its  real  substance  in  the  l^ew 
Testament  Revelation.  The  sacred  emblems  in 
the  holy  eucharist  set  forth  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  as  an  offering  for  sin.  Likewise  in  bap- 
tism, we  visibly  and  outwardly,  through  the  ap- 
pointed symbol  of  water,  applied  according  to  a 
given  formula,  profess  our  faith  in  Christ  as  the 
ground  of  our  invitation  into  his  Church,  and 
adoption  into  the  favor  and  family  of  God.  (Gal. 
3:  26-29;  Rom.  6:  3-11;  I.  Peter  3:  21.) 

Through  the  act  of  baptism,  we  enter  into 
solemn  covenant  with  God,  respecting  the  fol- 
lowing : 

We,  thereby,  covenant  to  renounce  the  devil 
and  all  his  works  (Eph.  5:  11;  Pro  v.  4:  14,  15; 
II.  Cor.  6:  14,  15;  I.  John  3:  8-10;  John  8:  44; 
James  4:  7;  Eph.  4:  27);  the  vain  pomp  and  glory 
of  the  world,  with  all  covetous  desires  of  the 
same,  and  the  carnal  desires  of  the  flesh,  so  that 
we  will  not  follow  nor  be  led  by  them  (I.  John  2: 
15,  16;  Rom.  12:  2;  8:  13;  Gal.  5:  24);  we  also 
confess  that  we  believe  in  God  the  Father  (I.  Cor. 


60  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

8:  6),  Almighty  (Eev.  4:  8)  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth  (Gen.  1:1);  and  in  Jesus  Christ  (I.  Cor.  8: 
6),  his  only  Son  (John  3:  16),  our  Lord  (John  13: 
13),  who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost  (Matt. 
1:  18),  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  (Luke  2:  4-7), 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate  (Mark  15:  15),  was 
crucified  (Mark  15:25-28),  dead  (John  19:33), 
and  buried  (John  19:  41,  42).  The  third  day,  he 
arose  from  the  dead  (Luke  24:  5-7).  He  ascended 
into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God 
the  Father  Almighty  (Acts  1:  9-11;  Heb.  10:  12). 
From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick 
and  the  dead  (Matt.  25:31-33;  IL  Tim.  4:1). 
That  we  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  2:  2-4; 
John  14:  16,  17,  26),  the  holy  catholic  Church  (I. 
Cor.  12:  12,  13;  Rom.  12:  4,  5;  Heb.  12:  22,  23), 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  (I.  John  2:  1,  2),  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body  (I.  Cor.  15:  42-44),  and  life 
everlasting  (Matt.  25:  46). 

We  not  only  avow  our  present  union  with 
Christ's  Church,  and  participation  of  his  grace; 
but  also  pledge  our  future  obedience  to  keep  God's 
holy  will  and  commandments  (John  14:  15,  24), 
and  to  walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  our  life 
(Matt.  10:  22),  God  being  our  helper  (John  15:  5; 
Phil  4:  13). 

This  is  called  the  "  Baptismal  Covenant,"  and 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  51 

expresses  the  faith  in  which  adult  believers  are 
bajjtized. 

All  the  above  items  of  faith,  experience,  and 
promises  are  signiiied  or  symbolized  by  baptism; 
and,  on  our  jxirt,  the  water  appHed  according  to 
the  formula  in  Matthew  28:19,  is  an  outward 
SIGN  of  this  inward  state  of  grace. 

But,  on  God's  jpart,  it  is  a  seal,  or  pledge,  both 
to  believing  adults  and  their  children,  whereby 
all  covenanted  blessings  promised  to  Abraham, 
and  subsequently  glorified  in  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit,  are  repeated  and  confirmed;  and  in 
which  He  engages  to  confer  on  us  all  the  benefits 
of  his  atonement,  so  long  as  we  remain  faithful  to 
the  vows  made  in  our  baptismal  covenant. 

The  invisible  God,  in  his  stipulations  with  man, 
has  often  employed  visible  signs  as  pledges,  or 
seals,  of  his  fidelity  to  the  contract.  When  he 
instituted  the  Passover,  he  appointed  a  bloody 
sign  upon  the  posts  and  lintels  of  the  houses  of 
Israel  as  a  pledge,  saying,  "When  I  see  the  blood, 
I  will  pass  over  you."  When  he  assured  :t^oah 
that  the  world  should  no  more  be  destroyed  by 
water,  he  set  the  rainbow  in  the  sky  as  a  guaran- 
tee of  his  promise.  When  he  promised  to  be  a 
God  to  Abraham  and  his  posterity,  he  appointed 
circumcision  as  the  pledge;  so,  when  he  engaged 


62  THE   DOCTRINE    OP   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

to  save  men  by  his  blood,  he  appointed  water 
baptism,  as  both  a  sign  of  our  allegiance  to  God, 
and  a  seal  of  all  the  blessings  which  he  promised 
to  those  who,  by  faith  in,  and  obedience  to,  him, 
will  continue  steadfast  unto  the  end. 

But  neither  the  human  sign,  nor  the  divine 

pledge,  can  make  any  one  a  Christian.     They  are 

only  legal  forms  which  entitle  us  to  the  privilege 

\  of  Christ's  Church.     They  imply  previous  adap- 

jtation  or  qualification  for  initiation,  and  without 

:  them  are  illegal.    Until  a  foreigner  is  naturalized, 

i  he  is  not  qualified  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 

to  a  country.     A  civil  officer  is  inaugurated  into 

his  office  by  taking  the  oath  of  fidelity;  but  this 

does  not  make  him  a  governor,  or  a  president. 

It  only  ratifies  his  election  by  giving  it  public 

recognition.     It  confers  authority,  but  does  not 

confer  fitness  for  the  office,  nor  qualification  for 

I  jts  duties.  ^  So  the  administering  of  the  form  and 

vows  of  Christian  baptism  to  an  applicant  does 

not  make   him  a  Christian;   but  it  publishes  a 

Christian  profession,  formally  initiates  him  into 

the  Church,  and  entitles  him  to  all  its  benefits 

and  privileges. 

But,  to  make  the  external  act  the  sole  instru- 
ment, or  immediate  cause,  of  spiritual  effect,  by 
saying  that  the  ordinance  conveys  grace  ex  oipere 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  53 

operato,  is  to  land  in  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  re- 
generation. Many  of  the  early  Church  fathers  at- 
tributed to  the  water  a  certain  kind  of  sanctifying 
influence,  which,  they  thought,  was  derived  from 
the  brooding  of  the  Spirit  over  the  waters  in  the 
days  of  the  creation.  The  ''  water  itself  was  bap- 
tized by  the  Spirit,"  they  say,  and,  hence,  sanctified 
by  the  Spirit,  it  has  received  power  to  sanctify 
from  sin.  They  believed  that  water  baptism  was 
identical  with  the  new  birth.  The  Church  of 
Eome  has  never  abandoned  this  heresy  of  baptis- 
mal regeneration.  She  does  not  make  it  merely 
a  sign  of  the  thing  signified,  but  both  the  sign 
and  the  thing  itself.  She  defines  baptism  as  the 
''^  sacramentum  regenerationis  per  aquam  in  verho,"" 
It  is  essential  to  salvation,  confers  grace,  remits  sin, 
sanctifies  the  soul,  and  is  the  only  appointed  chan- 
nel for  the  communication  of  grace  to  the  sinner. 
Mormonism  teaches  that  baptism  is  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins,  and  washes  away  all  taint  and 
guilt  to  date.  This  rite  may  be  repeated  indefi- 
nitely, and  must  be  so  often  as  one  wanders  and 
becomes  disobedient.  Also,  all  who  gather  from 
foreign  lands,  or  from  any  region  outside,  must 
be  re-baptized  as  soon  as  possible  after  reaching 
Zion.  Liimersion  is  the  only  valid  form,  because 
it  cleanses  from  all  sin. 


54  THE   DOCTRINE    OP   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

The  Scriptures  mostly  used  in  support  of  these 
doctrines,  are  the  words  of  Christ  to  Mcodemiis, 
"Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  " 
(John  3:  5). 

"Born  of  water"  cannot  refer  to  external  Chris- 
tian baptism,  for  that  ordinance  was  not  yet  insti- 
tuted at  the  time  when  these  words  were  uttered. 
Therefore,  our  Lord  answered  Mcodemus'  per- 
plexity, by  saying  that  His  words  must  not  be 
understood  in  a  literal^  physical  sense,  but  in  a 
sjmitual  sense.  He  did  not  mean  physical  birth, 
nor  water  regeneration;  but  the  passage  is  analo- 
gous to  the  one  in  Matt.  3: 11,  in  which  "fire"  is 
used,  not  literally,  but  emblematically.^  To  be 
born  of  water  and  the  Spirit  is  to  receive  a  spirit- 
ual cleansing  of  the  soul,  similar  to  washing  of 
the  body  by  water.  In  Isa.  55:  1;  Ezek.  36:  25; 
Jer.  2: 13;  John  4: 10;  7:  37,  38;  Eev.  21 :  6;  22: 17, 
no  one  would  understand  by  the  term,  "  water," 
the  physical  element,  or  even  sacramental  water. 

The  "washing  of  regeneration,"  in  Titus  3:  5, 
and  the  washing  away  of  sins,  in  Acts  22:  16, 
must  be  explained  in  a  similar  way. 

Whatever  interpretation  be  assigned  these  con- 
troverted passages,  that  of  a  regenerating  signiii- 

1.  See  chapter  on  Real  or  Spiritual  Baptism,  p.  27. 


THE   NATURE    OF   BAPTISM.  00 

cance  would  be  anti-scriptural,  and  opposed  to 
the  analogy  of  faith.  Regeneration  always  pre- 
cedes, but  never  accompanies  baptism,  and  it  is 
an  antecedent  qualification  for  its  legal  observ- 
ance. When  the  eunuch  applied  to  Philip  for 
baptism,  he  said,  "If  thou  believest  with  all  thine 
heart,  thou  mayest."  On  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
"they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were  bap- 
tized." When  Peter  finished  his  discourse  to 
Cornelius  and  his  friends,  he  said,  "  Can  any  man 
forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized, 
which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we." 
Here,  as  in  all  scriptural  teaching  on  the  subject 
previously  cited,  grace  is  signified,  but  not  im- 
parted, by  baptism. 

Baptism,  then,  though  not  an  instrument^  is, 
however,  a  real  means  of  grace,  that  is,  one  of  the 
ordinary  channels  through  which  grace  is  con- 
veyed to  the  believer.  IN'o  virtue  is  due  to  the 
sacramental  act,  nor  proceeds  from  the  adminis- 
trator of  the  ordinance,  or  his  office.  There  is 
no  more  efficacy  in  the  water  used  in  baptism, 
than  in  the  bread  and  wine  used  in  the  Lord's 
Supper;  but  by  the  exercise  of  faith  on  the  part 
of  the  recipient,  and  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
G-host  accompanying  the  external  act,  all  the 
benefits   signified   by  the  ordinance  are  applied 


56  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

and  conveyed  to  him,  anewly  confirming  God's 
promises,  and  strengthening  our  faith  by  the 
blessing  which  follows  our  obedience  to  the  com- 
mand of  God.  "  Unless  the  recipient  of-  this  sac- 
rament be  insincere,  baptism  is  an  act  of  faith, 
it  is  an  act  in  which  and  by  which  he  appropriates 
the  offered  benefits  of  the  redemption  of  Christ. 
And,  therefore,  to  baptism  may  be  properly  at- 
tributed all  that  in  the  Scriptures  is  attributed  to 
faith."  Like  prayer,  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the 
Word  of  God,  baptism  is  an  appointed  means  of 
grace,  and  ministers  to  the  sanctification  and  sal- 
vation of  the  believer. 

Christian  baptism,  then,  is  an  outward  act  which 
does  not  impart  inward  cleansing  and  renewing 
of  the  heart;  but  becomes  a  medium  of  expressing 
to  the  world  all  the  hope  of  our  salvation  upon 
the  terms  of  God's  covenant,  and  by  faith  in  him 
who  instituted  and  blessed  this  holy  ordinance. 

This  doctrine  of  the  nature  of  Christian  bap- 
tism is  taught  in  the  symbols  of  most  of  the  Re- 
formed and  Protestant  Churches. 

The  twenty-seventh  article  of  the  Church  of 
England,  sa3^s :  "  Baptism  is  not  only  a  sign  of  pro- 
fession, and  mark  of  difference,  whereby  Christian 
men  are  discerned  from  others  that  be  not  Chris- 
tians, but  is  also  a  sign  of  regeneration,  or  new 


THE  NATURE   OP   BAPTISM.  57 

birth,  whereby,  as  by  an  instrument,  they  that  re- 
ceive baptism  rightly  are  grafted  into  the  Church ; 
the  promises  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  of  our 
adoption  to  be  the  sons  of  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
are  visibly  signed  and  sealed;  faith  is  confirmed, 
and  grace  increased  by  virtue  of  prayer  unto 
God." 

From  the  latter  half  of  this  article,  the  charge 
of  some  sort  of  baptismal  regeneration  has  been 
laid  upon  the  Church  of  England,  as  well  as  up- 
on the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  which  has 
adopted  the  article  in  its  liturgy.  But  this  charge 
has  not  been  well  sustained. 

The  seventeenth  article  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  is  substantially  the  same,  with  an 
omission  of  the  more  objectionable  part  above  re- 
ferred to. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  says:  "Is  then  the 
external  baptism  of  water  the  washing  away  of 
sins  ?  It  is  not.  For  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
alone  cleanses  from  all  sin.  Why  then  does  the 
Holy  Spirit  call  baptism  the  washing  of  regener- 
ation, and  the  washing  away  of  sins  ?  God  speaks 
thus,  not  without  sufficient  cause,  not  only  that 
he  may  teach  us,  that  just  as  the  pollution  of  the 
body  is  purged  by  water,  so  our  sins  are  expiated 
by  the  blood  and  Spirit  of  Christ;  but,  much  more, 


58  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

that  he  may  assure  ns,  by  this  divine  symbol  and 
pledge,  that  we  not  less  truly  are  cleansed  from 
our  sins  by  inward  washing,  than  by  external  and 
visible  water." 

The  Westminster  Confession,  article  twenty- 
eight,  says :  "  Although  it  be  a  great  sin  to  con- 
temn, or  neglect  this  ordinance,  yet  grace  and 
salvation  are  not  so  inseparably  annexed  unto  it, 
as  that  no  person  can  be  regenerated  or  saved 
without  it,  or  that  all  that  are  baptized  are  un- 
doubtedly regenerated.  The  efficacy  of  baptism 
is  not  tied  to  that  moment  of  time  wherein  it  is 
administered;  yet,  notwithstanding,  by  the  right 
use  of  this  ordinance,  the  grace  promised  is  not 
only  offered  but  really  exhibited  and  confirmed 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  such  (whether  of  age  or  in- 
fants) as  that  grace  belongeth  unto,  according  to 
the  counsel  of  God's  will,  in  his  appointed  time. 
The  sacrament  of  baptism  is  but  once  to  be  ad- 
ministered to  any  person."  The  latter  part,  be- 
ing a  peculiarity  of  Calvinistic  doctrine,  is  not 
essential  to  our  idea  of  the  nature  of  baptism. 
Watson,  volume  II.,  page  647,  says,  "It  (baptism) 
is  both,  as  to  infants  and  to  adults,  the  sign  and 
pledge  of  that  inward  grace  which,  though  modi- 
fied in  its  operations  by  the  difference  of  their 
circumstances,  has  respect  to,  and  flows  from,  a 


THE   NATURE    OF    BAPTISM.  59 

covenant  relation  to  each  of  the  three  in  whose 
one  name  they  are  baptized  —  acceptance  by  the 
Father,  union  with  Christ  as  the  head  of  the  mys- 
tical body,  the  Church,  and  the  communion  of 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

Primarily  and  principally,  then,  Christian  bap- 
tism is  an  open  confession  of  our  faith,  and  a 
federal  transaction,  whereby  all  the  covenanted 
blessings  of  grace  promised  to  Abraham,  and 
continued  and  perpetuated  through  the  redemp- 
tion by  Christ,  are  signified,  sealed,  and  conveyed. 

Secondarily  it  becomes  a  ceremonial  form  of 
initiation  into  the  visible  Church  of  Christ,  in 
conformity  to  circumcision,  which  was  the  rite 
of  induction  into  the  Abrahamic  Church  (Gen. 
17:  9-14),  of  which  the  Christian  Church  is  a 
continuation  and  improvement.  Spiritual  reno- 
vation is  the  real  initiation  into  the  community 
of  Christ's  Church,  by  which  we  become  par- 
takers of  his  grace  and  salvation;  but  a  public 
avowal  of  this  inner  cleansing  by  means  of  a  di- 
vinely appointed  symbol,  is  what  ceremonially 
constitutes  us  members  of  an  outward  organiza- 
tion, known  as  "the  visible  Church  of  Christ." 
God,  ever  since  he  has  had  a  Church  on  earth,  has 
also  had  an  adopted  form  of  admission  into  it, — 
"  a  token,"  whereby  his  subjects  should  be  recog- 


60  THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

nized  as  members  of  his  Church  on  earth  (such  a 
sign  was  circumcision,  afterward  succeeded  by 
baptism),  although  spiritually  one  might  be  a 
member  of  the  invisible  Church  without  the  visi- 
ble sign  of  initiation.  (See  Rom.  2:  28,  29;  4: 
9-12;  Phil.  3:  3.)  This  seems  to  be  the  proper 
interpretation  of  Gen.  17:  14.  The  uncircum- 
cised  were  "  cut  off"  from  God's  people  not  spirit- 
ually, but  organically. 

Having  now  shown  the  difference  between 
the  real  and  the  ceremonial  initiation  into  the 
Church,  it  is  further  necessary  to  discriminate  be- 
tween the  ceremonial  initiation  into  the  Church, 
and  that  into  a  Church.  We  are  not  baptized 
in  the  name  of  any  human  leader,  nor  of  any 
particular  denomination  or  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  but  in  the  name  of  the  "Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  This 
is  the  formula  of  induction  into  the  catholic  or 
I  general  Church  of  Christ,  and  expresses  the  rela- 
tion we  sustain  to  it.  To  be  baptized  "in  the 
name  of  Paul"  (I.  Cor.  1:  13),  or  "unto  Moses" 
(I.  Cor.  10: 2),  is  to  be  made  believers  in,  and  dis- 
ciples of,  Paul  and  of  Moses;  but  to  be  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  or  what  is  equivalent, 
"in  the  name  o-f  the  Lord  Jesus"  (Acts  19:  5),  is 


THE   NATURE   OF   BAPTISM.  61 

to  be  inducted  into  the  organic  visible  union  with 
Christ  as  the  representative  of  the  Godhead. 

We  are  not  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  any 
sectarian  founder,  or  any  ecclesiastical  body  of 
Christian  believers.  We  become  members  of  a 
Presbyterian  Church,  Methodist  Church,  or  United 
Brethren  Church,  by  subscribing  to  her  confession 
of  faith  and  form  of  Church  government;  and  her 
special  form  of  initiation  into  Church  fellowship 
has  reference  to  only  a  yart  of  the  general  Church 
of  Christ,  and,  therefore,  baptism,  which  has  refer- 
ence to  the  Church,  is  not  a  proper  form  for  in- 
duction into  a  Church.  When  an  infant  or  adult 
is  baptized,  though  he  be  thereby  ceremonially 
introduced  into  the  visible  Church  of  Christ,  he 
is  not  thereby  constituted  a  member  of  any  par- 
ticular branch  of  that  Church.  A  preacher  does 
not  baptize  by  virtue  of  his  Presbyterianism  or 
Methodism,  but  by  virtue  of  his  office  as  a  minis- 
ter of  Christ. 

But  on  this  whole  subject  of  baptism,  it  is  im- 
portant to  distinguish  between  spiritual  baptism 
and  ritual  baptism.  The  ceremonial  is  always 
the  non-essential  part;  the  religious  act  lying  at 
the  foundation  of  the  ritual  in  obedience  to  di- 
vine command,  is  necessary  to  salvation. 


The  Doctrine  of  Christian  Baptism. 


I=jOs.I?.X     II 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BSPTISM. 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHRISTIAN  ADULTS. 

Since  Christian  baptism  is  an  outward  and  visi- 
ble expression  of  an  inner  state  of  grace,  none, 
among  adults,  but  believers  who  profess  faith  in 
Christ  are  qualified  to  receive  this  sacrament.  To 
knowingly  administer  the  rite  to  an  unregenerate 
person,  would  be  a  sacrilegious  mockery  of  the 
gospel  and  its  institutions,  and  a  hypocritical 
subterfuge  on  the  part  of  the  applicant.  What- 
ever renders  one  fit  for  communion  in  the  visible 
Church,  will  also  be  a  sufficient  credential  for  as- 
suming the  baptismal  vow. 

This  qualification  implies  three  things  : 
1.  Faith  in  Christ— Wh^n  the  eunuch  asked 
Philip  what  should  hinder  him  from  being  bap- 
tized, the  reply  was,  "If  thou  believest  with  all 
thine  heart,  thou  mayest " ;  and  generally  through- 
out scriptural  teaching,  and  the  practice  of  the 
^  65 


66  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAX    BAPTISM. 

""  true  Church  in  all  ages,  believing  is  considered  a 
preparatory  requisite  for  the  exercise  of  this  rite. 

2.  Some  degree  of  knowledge  of  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  Christianity. — Faith  in  Christ  would 
imply  this,  for  we  must  know  something  about  a 
truth  before  we  can  believe  in  it;  but  independent 
of  this  general  knowledge,  we  should  have  some 
special  understanding  of  the  import  and  design 
of  the  scheme  of  salvation,  especially  as  related 
to  sinners  who  have  become  reconciled  to  God 
through  the  atonement,  of  all  of  which  our  profes- 
sion through  baptism  is  significant.  In  the  early 
Church,  candidates  for  baptism  were  required  to 
pass  through  a  preparatory  course  of  instruction. 

3.  A  life  of  obedience  and  Christian  practice. — 
True  faith  manifests  itself  by  works,  and  knowl- 
edge by  practice.  This  evidence  that  we  are 
striving  to  follow  Christ  is  necessary  before  tak- 
ing the  pledge  of  baptism,  which  consists  in  a 
renunciation  of  the  world,  the  devil,  and  all  his 
works.  We  not  only  proclaim  our  faith  in  Christ, 
but  attest  it  by  this  solemn  consecration  to  God 
and  his  service  forever. 

As  to  the  requisite  qualification  of  an  adult  for 
baptism,  we  can  be  guided  only  by  external  evi- 
dence. Among  the  Roman  Catholics,  all  those 
born  within  the  pale  of  the  Chuix>h  are,  for  this 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  67 

reason,  members  of  the  same,  and,  therefore,  in- 
dependent of  any  spiritual  change  or  religious 
profession,  are  entitled  to  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism. This  practice  seems  to  be  derived  from  the 
ancient  theocracy  in  which  all  the  descendants  of 
Abraham,  through  Isaac,  were  members  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  entitled  to  all  its 
privileges  and  ceremonies.  Even  in  those  times 
and  countries  where  the  Church  and  the  State 
are  united  into  one  head,  all  native  born  citizens, 
by  virtue  of  their  nationality,  may  be  members  of 
the  established  Church ;  and  often  to  such  an  ex- 
tent did  ecclesiasticism  become  secularized  that  no 
man  could  become  an  apprentice  in  any  business 
or  profession,  or  secure  an  office  in  the  govern- 
ment, unless  he  would  first  produce  a  certificate 
of  baptism  and  confirmation.  But  in  all  true  \ 
evangelical  Protestant  Churches,  character^  and  not  \ 
birthright,  is  a  qualification  for  the  exercise  of  i 
any  Church  ordinance. 

The  Church  may  possibly  be  deceived  upon  the 
evidence  of  men's  profession,  and,  perhaps,  some- 
times administer  baptism  to  an  unworthy  appli- 
cant; but  we  do  not  claim  infallibility  in  the 
m.atter  of  detecting  all  forms  of  religious  hypoc- 
risy, for  Christ  does  not  expect  us  to  search  the 
heart,  nor  does  he  want  us  to  sit  in  judgment  over 


68  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHKISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

men's  secret  motives  of  sincerity.  A  credible  pro- 
fession, and  promise  of  obedience,  is  all  that  need 
be  expected  to  satisfy  our  judgment  of  a  truly  re- 
generate heart;  and  upon  such  evidence  we  may 
receive  men  and  women  into  the  visible  Church 
by  baptism.  Whether  every  such  a  communicant 
is  also  a  member  of  the  invisible  Church,  is  the 
prerogative  of  God  to  decide.  The  externally  or- 
ganized Church  of  Christ  is  compared  to  a  net 
which  catches  both  good  and  bad  fish,  and  to  a 
field  of  grain  having  tares  among  the  wheat, 
which,  for  the  sake  of  the  good  wheat,  we  are  not 
to  pluck  out,  but  are  to  reserve  this  right  to  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest. 


THE    SUBJECTS    OF   BAPTISM.  69 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   INFANT   CHILDREN   OF    CHRISTIAN   PARENTS. 

We  now  begin  to  tread  on  contested  ground, 
every  inch  of  which  has  been  critically  canvassed, 
and  elaborately  discussed  by  Pedobaptist  and 
Anabaptist  writers  during  the  last  century.  The 
subjects  of  infant  baptism  and  mode  are  the  most 
controverted  points  in  polemic  theology  ;  and  as 
our  line  of  march  extends  through  this  hostile 
region,  we  do  not  wish  to  cowardly  evade  the 
foes  on  the  battle  field  by  taking  a  round-about 
course,  but  will  enter  into  the  contest  in  the  in- 
terest of  truth,  even  though  we  may  be  wounded 
in  the  attempt. 

The  Baptist  position  is,  that  there  is  no  scrip- 
tural warrant  for  infant  baptism;  and  many  de- 
nounce its  practice  in  the  strongest  and  most 
uncharitable  terms.  Dr.  Alexander  Carson,  the 
great  leader  on  the  Baptist  side  in  this  contro- 
versy, after  trying  to  show  that  the  divine  com- 
mission to  the  apostles  forbids  the  baptizing  of 
children,  says,  on  page  169  of  his  "  Work  on 
Baptism,"  *'  I  am  willing  to  hang  the  whole  con- 


70  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHEISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

troversy  uj)on  this  passage;"  and,  on  page  170, 
he  boasts  of  his  confidence,  in  a  manner  that  is 
sacrilegious,  by  saying:  "Even  if  I  found  another 
command  enjoining  the  baptism  of  the  infants  of 
believers,  I  should  not  move  an  inch  from  my 
position.  ...  I  would  gainsay  an  angel  from 
heaven  who  should  say  that  this  commission  may 
extend  to  the  baptism  of  any  but  believers.  .  .  . 
Here  I  stand  entrenched,  and  defy  the  ingenuity 
of  earth  and  hell  to  drive  me  from  my  position." 
In  one  of  the  Baptist  journals  {The  Western  Bap- 
tist Recorder),  we  find  such  language  as  this:  "Of 
all  damnable  heresies  in  the  black  catalogue  which 
has  befouled  the  name  of  Christianity,  we  con- 
sider infant  baptism  the  most  damnable.  If  other 
heresies  have  damned  their  thousands,  this  has 
damned  its  tens  of  thousands." 

What  specimens  of  bigoted  intolerance  are  such 
invectives,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  proclaim  a  dog- 
matic notion  infallible  even  against  a  counter  reve- 
lation, or  an  angel;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  would 
brand  as  damnable  heretics  all  who  do  not  believe 
and  practice  according  to  this  doctrine.  It  would 
fain  call  down  fire  from  heaven,  or  kindle  a  fur- 
nace seven  times  hotter  than  any  ordinary  anger 
would  demand,  for  all  who  presume  to  question 
its  infallibility.     There   have   been   many  grand 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  71 

and  good  men  like  Luther,  Knox,  Howe,  Baxter, 
Wesley,  Doddridge,  Pay  son,  etc.,  who,  according 
to  such  doctrine  of  the  crime  of  infant  baptism, 
have  been  gross  impostors  who  will  have  to  an- 
swer for  the  souls  of  "tens  of  thousands"! 

Our  position  is,  that  infant  baptism  is  a  necessary 
inference  from  the  teachings  of  Scripture,  not  by  ex- 
press command,  but  by  evident  implication  or  induc- 
tion from  scriptural  teachings. 

We  are  asked  again  and  again  by  Baptist 
writers  to  produce  a  single  precept,  or  scriptural 
passage,  that  enjoins  us  to  baptize  children.  We 
ask  them,  in  turn,  to  bring  forward  a  single  pass- 
age in  which  the  two-fold  nature  of  Christ  is 
clearly  asserted,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as 
three  in  personality  and  one  in  essence,  is  stated 
in  so  many  precise  and  formal  words.  Do  we  not 
bring  together  the  various  declarations  of  inspired 
truth  touching  these  subjects,  and  then  by  combi- 
nation, inference,  and  induction,  arrive  at  results 
which  undoubtedly  establish  the  doctrine  of  the 
dual  nature  of  Christ,  and  the  triunity  of  the 
Godhead  ?  We  challenge  our  opponents  to  show 
us  a  passage  in  the  whole  Scriptures  that  author- 
izes the  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week 
as  Sabbath,  or  the  right  of  Christian  women  to 
commune  at  the  Lord's  table,  or  the  practice  of 


72  THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

family  worship.  Yet  the  scriptural  validity  of 
these  institutions  as  observed  by  all  the  Baptists 
(excepting  one  branch),  is  never  questioned  by 
them.  They  prove  them  to  be  scriptural  on  the 
same  ground  that  we  prove  infant  baptism  to  be 
scriptural,  namely,  by  inference  and  induction; 
and  our  Baptist  friends  must  either  acknowledge 
the  soundness  of  our  principle  concerning  infant 
baptism,  or  give  up  the  right  of  women  to  com- 
mune, and  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  Sabbath, 
and  family  worship,  and  the  doctrines  of  the  God- 
man,  and  the  Trinity,  as  "  damnable  heresies." 

We  need  no  direct  command  to  make  the  com- 
mission to  baptize  extend  to  and  include  children 
of  believers,  for  there  is  enough  information  con- 
tained in  the  Old  and  !N"ew  Testament  to  sanction 
the  lawfulness  of  child  baptism,  and  to  warrant 
its  habitual  practice  in  the  early  Church. 

Section  I. 

The    COVENANT     RELATION    OF    CHILDREN    TO    THE 

Church. 

We  claim  a  scriptural  basis  for  infant  baptism, 
and  ofler  as  reasons  for  its  practice  a  few  plausi- 
ble propositions. 

Proposition  J. 

There  is  presumptive  and  inductive  evidence 

THAT   the   infant   CHILDREN    OF    BELIEVING    PARENTS 


THE    SUBJECTS    OF    BAPTISM.  73 

ARE  ENTITLED  TO  BAPTISM,  BECAUSE  OF  THE  COVE- 
NANT RELATION  WHICH  THEY  SUSTAIN  TO  THE  VISI- 
BLE Church. 

The  visible  ChurcJi  embraces  all  those  who  pro- 
fess the  true  religion;  but  it  would  be  useless  to 
expect  it  to  consist  exclusively  of  the  truly  re- 
generate, for  in  all  ages  the  congregations  of 
professed  Christians  have  not  been  entirely  free 
from  unworthy  representatives.  Even  among  the 
twelve,  there  was  found  a  Judas.  To  exclude 
any  one  from  membership  in  the  visible  Church, 
there  must  appear  apostasy,  deduced  not  from  the 
exercise  of  private  judgment  concerning  men's 
hearts,  but  upon  sufficient  evidences  of  outward 
conduct,  rendering  it  incompatible  with  a  Chris- 
tian character;  or  they  must  be  of  such  a  nature 
as  are  forbidden  membership  by  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

Upon  this  idea  of  Church  polity  it  would  seem, 
that  those  who  oppose  the  initiatory  rite  for  ad- 
mitting children  to  the  visible  Church  should 
prove,  first,  their  moral  unfitness  for  such  member- 
ship; or,  second,  that,  though  proper  subjects, 
they  are  nevertheless  directly  forbidden  such  privi- 
leges by  the  Scriptures. 

The  first  is  fully  settled  by  Christ,  who  be- 


74  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM^ 

stowed  unlimited  salvation  upon  all  children^  by 
blessing  them,  and  teaching  his  disciples  this 
memorable  doctrine,  "Forbid  them  not:  .  .  .  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven^ 

By  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  in  this  passage 
of  Scripture,  we  must  understand,  either  the  visi- 
ble Church  on  earth,  or  the  invisible  Church  in 
heaven.  If  the  Church  on  earth  is  meant,  the 
case  is  settled  that  they  are  fit  for  initiation  into 
the  Church.  If  the  second  meaning  be  adopted, 
the  case  is  equally  clear;  for  if  they  are  worthy 
of  membership  in  the  Church  above,  surely  they 
are  worthy  of  membership  in  the  Church  below. 

The  expression,  "Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  is  in  the  present  tense,  and  therefore 
does  not  necessarily  imply  future  salvation,  but 
has  respect  to  their  present  relation  to  the  king- 
dom as  members  of  Christ's  Church;  although  the 
words  may  admit  of  a  prospective  application  to 
children,  because  the  obligation  assumed  in  the  or- 
dinance, together  with  the  subsequent  instruction 
in  godliness,  usually  is  instrumental  in  their  per- 
manent fidelity  to  the  true  Church.    (Prov.  22 :  6.) 


1.  Matthew  and  Mark  both  use  the  diminutive,  Traidla  {little  children),  And 
not  Tza'tSag  (children  or  youth),  in  the  sense  of  adult  offspring.  Luke  18: 15, 
uses  l3p£(j)og  {infants),  and  this  same  word  is  rendered  babe,  in  Luke  1:41, 
44;  2: 12, 16;  Acts  7: 19.  Hence  the  expression,  "  children,"  has  reference, 
not  to  adult  descendants,  but  to  little  ones. 


THE    SUBJECTS    OF   BAPTISM.  75 

The  second  alternative,  viz.:  prohibitory  exclu- 
sion from  the  Church,  can  find  no  support  any- 
where, and  must,  therefore,  be  abandoned.  The 
presumption  in  the  first  proposition  is  in  our  favor  ^ 
The  onus  probandi  rests  with  our  opposers;  and 
our  conclusion  must  stand  until  disproved  by 
counter  evidence.  No  opposer  of  infant  baptism 
has  ever  attempted  to  show  a  prohibitory  precept. 
On  the  contrary,  we  now  propose  to  show  that  in 
the  Scriptures  children  really  are  recognized  by 
suitable  ordinances  as  members  of  Christ's  Church, 

1.  The  Christian  Church  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  the  Jewish  Church  of  the  Old  Testament,  are 
one  and  the  same. 

Scripture  speaks  not  of  several  Churches,  but 
of  one  —  "the  Church  of  the  living  God."  It  was 
founded  on  the  ancient  covenant  made  with  Abra- 
ham by  God,  when  he  promised  that  his  posterity 
should  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven  in  multitude; 
that  he  would  be  a  God  to  him  and  his  descend- 
ants, and  that  in  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  should  be  blessed.  By  "seed,"  was  not 
meant  Abraham's  descendants  collectively,  but 
one  person,  namely,  Christ.  So  Paul  teaches  in 
Gal.  3:  16,  "Now  to  Abraham  and  his  seed  were 
the  promises  made.     He  saith  not.  And  to  seeds, 


76  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

as  of  many;  but  as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed, 
which  is  Christ." 

This  covenant  was  called  by  God,  an  "  everlast- 
ing covenant"  (Gen.  17:  7),  of  which  he  appointed 
circumcision  as  the  sign  and  seal.  Its  promise 
and  blessing  was  the  redemption  of  the  human 
race  through  Christ  —  the  gospel  which  Paul  says 
was  preached  before  unto  Abraham,  and  was, 
therefore,  the  ^;ro^e^^an^6^^^^m,  or  first  gospel  to 
our  fallen  parents.  It  was  a  repetition  of  the 
promise  made  long  before  to  Adam  immediately 
after  the  fall,  and  reiterated  through  prophecy 
until  the  time  of  its  fulfillment. 

Now  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  still 
remains  operative  in  the  Christian  Church  in  all 
its  essential  features.  It  is  the  same  covenant  of 
grace,  promising  salvation  upon  the  same  terms, 
and  embracing  the  same  fold.  The  blessing 
promised  to  Abraham  has  come  upon  us,  says 
Paul  (Gal.  3 :  14) ;  and  in  his  address  to  Agrippa, 
says,  *'I  stand  and  am  judged  for  the  hope  of 
the  promise  made  of  God  unto  our  fathers."  If  the 
Church  under  the  old  and  new  dispensation  is 
not  identical,  why  then  should  Paul  say  to  the 
Churches  of  Galatia,  "Know  ye  therefore  that 
they  which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children 
of  Abraham"  (Gal.  3:7).     "If  ye  be  Christ's, 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  77 

then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according 
to  the  promise"  (Gal.  3:  29).  Hence  the  l^ew 
Testament  Christians  are  declared  to  be  Abra- 
ham's children,  and  heirs  of  the  same  blessing. 

Ecclesiastical  identity  is  much  like  political 
identity.  If,  under  different  generations  and  ad- 
ministrations during  successive  periods  of  time, 
there  has  existed  the  same  governing  power,  and 
the  same  constitution  in  the  main,  it  is  the  same 
state.  Under  both  old  and  new  dispensations  of 
grace,  there  have  been  the  same  King,  the  same 
law,  the  same  gospel,  the  same  Mediator,  and  the 
same  conditions  of  salvation.  The  Pentecostal 
Church,  to  which  "The  Lord  added  .  .  .  daily 
such  as  should  be  saved"  (Acts  2:  47),  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  body  which  is  called,  "  The 
church  in  the  wilderness"  (Acts  7:38).  Christ 
came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill.  "He  is  our 
peace,  who  hath  made  both  one,  and  hath  broken 
down  the  middle  wall  of  partition"  (Eph.  2:14). 
The  Old  and  !N"ew  Testament  is  the  history  and 
doctrine  of  one  Church,  one  leader,  one  faith. 
The  Jehovah,  or  "  angel  of  the  Lord,"  who  de- 
livered Israel  out  of  Egypt,  wrought  signs  and 
wonders  for  the  deliverance  of  his  people,  and 
gave  them  the  law  from  Sinai,  was  the  same 
Messiah  that  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  and  cruci 


78  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

fied  upon  Calvary.  Abraham,  David,  and  the 
prophets  were  saved  by  the  same  faith  in  the  same 
atonement  by  which  you  and  I  to-day  are  saved; 
they,  by  looking  forward,  we,  by  looking  hack- 
ward,  to  Calvary.  Christ  said,  "Abraham  re- 
joiced to  see  my  day:  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad." 
He  saw  it  hj  faith  afar  off. 

The  Bereans  were  commended,  because  they 
daily  searched  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  to  see 
if  Paul's  teaching  harmonized  with  that  standard. 
(Acts  17:11.)  In  Romans  11,  Paul  shows  that 
the  Gentile  Christians  were  grafted  in  and  par- 
took of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  old  olive  tree, 
thus  forming  not  two,  but  one  tree. 

Thus  we  find  that  the  "Church  of  the  living 
God,"  in  all  ages,  was  under  the  same  covenant 
of  grace,  though  under  different  dispensations, 
and  is,  therefore,  one  and  the  same,  "  built  upon 
the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone." 

2.  Infant  children  of  believing  j^cirents  were  mem- 
bers of  the  ancient  Jewish  Church,  by  virtue  of  the 
Abrahamic  covenant. 

It  is  a  well  understood  fact  that,  according  to 
God's  covenant  with  Abraham,  every  infant  be- 
came a  member  of  the  theocracy  by  being  cir- 
cumcised on  the   eighth   day  after  birth.     This 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF  BAPTISM.  79 

was  also  tlie  ceremonial  ordinance  of  induction 
into  the  Church. 

It  has  been  very  strenuously  argued  that  cir- 
cumcision was  no  more  than  a  civil  badge,  and 
that  it  signified  only  temporal  citizenship  in  the 
Jewish  nation.  But  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  it  was  also  a  religious  act,  and  signified  ec- 
clesiastical union.  Among  the  Jews,  every  male 
child,  on  the  day  of  its  circumcision,  was  called 
Chatan,  because  it  was  then  considered  as  es- 
poused to  God,  and  united  to  his  people. 

So  identical  were  the  Church  and  State  under 
the  old  economy,  that  admission  to  the  one  was 
also  admission  to  the  other,  and  exclusion  from 
the  one  was  also  exclusion  from  the  other.  In  the 
ancient  theocracy,  the  high  priest,  priests,  and 
Levites  were  civil  as  well  as  religious  officers;  and 
the  sacrifices  and  festivals  were  both  national  and 
religious  services.  The  engagement  contained 
in  the  covenant  was,  that  Jehovah  would  bless 
Abraham,  and  that  he  should  be  the  father  of 
many  nations,  which  refers  to  his  spiritual  seed  as 
well  as  to  his  natural  descendants;  and  that  they 
should  possess  Canaan,  which  included  also  their 
heavenly  inheritance.  (Heb.  11: 13, 15.)  Circum- 
cision, therefore,  admitted  infants  to  Church  mem- 
bership, as  well  as  to  national  citizenship. 


80  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

That  circumcision  was  not  exclusively  national, 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  was  instituted  long 
before  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai,  at 
which  time  the  people  were,  for  the  first  time, 
inaugurated  as  a  nation;  and  because  Abraham 
"received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had  yet  being 
uncircumcised "  (Rom.  4:  9-12);  and,  lastly,  be- 
cause it  signified  a  spiritual  state  of  the  heart. 
Paul  says,  "He  is  not  a  Jew,  which  is  one  out- 
wardly; neither  is  that  circumcision,  which  is 
outward  in  the  flesh:  but  he  is  a  Jew,  which  is  one 
inwardly;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in 
the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter^'  (Rom.  2:  28,  29). 
"  We  are  the  circumcision,  which  worship  God  in 
the  spirit"  (Phil.  3:  3).  Such  a  kind  of  circum- 
cision seems  to  find  a  substitute  and  representative 
in  the  modern  ordinance  of  Christian  baptism. 
(Col.  2 :  11, 12.)  •  All  this  does  not  look  as  though 
circumcision  were  only  a  political  badge,  but 
rather  intimates  that  the  chief  design  was  to 
symbolize  the  promised  redemption  of  the  world 
through  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Children,  then, 
were  included  in  the  ancient  covenant  of  grace, 
which  made  them  members  of  the  Church. 

Again,  they  were  expressly  embraced  in  the 
divine  covenant  with  Moses,  who  said:  "  Ye  stand 


THE   SUBJECTS    OF   BAPTISM.  81 

this  day  all  of  you  before  the  Lord  your  God; 
your  captains  of  your  tribes,  your  elders,  and 
your  officers,  with  all  the  men  of  Israel,  your  Ut- 
ile ones,  your  wives,  and  thy  stranger  that  is  in 
thy  camp,  from  the  hewer  of  thy  wood  unto  the 
drawer  of  thy  water:  that  thou  shouldest  enter 
into  covenant  with  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  into 
his  oath,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  maketh  with 
thee  this  day"  (Deut.  29:  10-12). 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  Old  Testament  Church, 
parents  who  consecrated  themselves  to  the  Lord 
by  solemn  vows,  usually  brought  their  children 
with  them;  and  as  natural  sponsors,  or  the  law- 
ful representatives  of  their  children,  contracted 
obligations  for  them  by  a  sort  of  alter  ego,  which 
secured  for  them  the  benefits  of  the  covenant, 
unless  the  children  themselves  voluntarily  re- 
nounced the  engagement  assumed  in  the  adop- 
ted ordinance  of  circumcision. 

3.  We  have  now  reached  the  important  point 
at  issue.  From  these  two  premises  we  are  pre- 
pared to  draw  our  conclusion,  that  if  the  Churches 
under  the  old  and  new  disperisations  are  one  and  the 
same,  and,  that  if  the  infant  children  of  the  Jewish 
commonwealth  were  recognized  members  of  God's 
visible  Church  through  the  adopted  ordinance  of  cir- 
cumcision, then  OUR  children,  also,  are  members  of 


82  THE   DOCTRIXE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

the  Chu7x-h  of  to-day,  and  entitled  to  the  modern  or- 
dinance of  baptisjn,  unless  the  Scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament  teach  anything  to  the  contrary. 

Unless  there  can  be  somewhere  found  a  positive 
precept  which  excludes  children  from  Church 
membership,  or  which  revokes  the  privilege  which 
they  always  enjoyed  from  the  beginning  of  the 
ancient  Church,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that 
the}^  have  a  right  to  them  noio.  By  a  positive 
precept,  infant  membership  became  a  law  of  the 
Church,  and  it  requires  a  positive  precept  to  annul 
it.  Where  is  the  record  of  such  nullification  f  The 
Church  was  organized  in  Abraham's  time.  It 
provided  for  the  admission  to  membership  of 
both  believing  adults  and  their  little  ones.  Chil- 
i  dren,  then,  being  put  into  the  Church  by  positive 
'  law  of  God,  and  remaining  there  for  successive 
ages  without  interruption,  can  be  put  out  only 
by  positive  law  of  God. 

True,  we  often  hear  it  said  that  when  Christ 
came,  the  whale  Jewish  law  and  ceremony  passed 
away :  but  we  must  distinguish  between  the  Abra- 
hauiic  covenant  and  the  Mosaic  covenant  made 
at  Sinai.  The  giving  or  abrogating  of  the  latter 
could  not  effect  or  annul  the  former;  for  Paul 
says,  "That  the  covenant,  that  was  confirmed 
before  of  God  in  Christ,  the  law,  which  was  four 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  83 

hundred  and  thirty  years  after,  cannot  disannul, 
that  it  should  make  the  promise  of  none  effect" 
(Gal.  3:  17);  for  the  covenant  promise  to  Abra- 
ham was  declared  to  be  an  ''everlasting  covenant," 
having  reference  to  the  gospel,  and  possessing,  in 
its  very  nature,  the  element  of  permanency,  and 
therefore  it  could  not  be  abolished  by  the  transi- 
tory ritual  of  Moses.  The  gospel  dispensation  is 
a  continuation  and  completion  of  the  great  design 
of  the  Abrahamic  covenant;  and  neither  Christ 
nor  his  apostles  ever  repealed  it. 

Instead  of  the  children's  relation  to  the  Church 
being  changed,  Paul  assumes  it  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  it  continues  as  before,  when  he  says, 
*'For  the  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by 
the  wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified 
by  the  husband:  else  were  your  children  unclean; 
but  now  are  they  holy"  (I.  Cor.  7: 14).  This  is  a 
strong  proof-text  for  infant  membership,  and  has 
caused  the  anti-Pedobaptist  not  a  little  trouble. 
It  would  sometimes  happen,  in  Paul's  day,  that 
the  husband  would  be  converted  from  paganism 
to  Christianity,  while  the  wife  remained  a  heathen; 
or  the  wife  be  converted  while  the  husband  con- 
tinued an  idolater.  The  question  then  was,  will 
the  marriage  union,  in  such  a  case,  be  Christian, 
and  what  relation  would  their  children  sustain 


84  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

to  the  Church  ?  The  apostle,  in  proving  to  the 
Corinthians  that  the  marriage  union  is  Christian, 
though  one  of  the  parties  was  no  believer,  re- 
minds them  what  would  be  a  natural  consequence 
if  this  were  not  so,  —  a  consequence  which  they 
would  not  be  willing  to  accept  as  true,  —  "else 
were  your  children  uncleariy^'  argues  Paul,  "but 
now,"  as  you  all  admit,  "  are  they  holy,"  or  clean. 
It  is  well  known  to  a  student  of  oriental  lan- 
guage and  literature,  that  the  Jews  called  all  who 
belonged  to  the  Church  of  the  covenant,  by  the 
term  "holy,"  or  "clean,"  and  the  Gentiles,  or 
those  outside  its  pale,  "unclean."  The  appella- 
tive, ayioc  (agios),  is  not  bestowed,  in  the  -N'ew 
Testament,  on  any  person  not  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  See  Acts  26:  10,  where  Paul 
says,  "  Many  [ayiuv,  agion]  of  the  holy  persons  \i.  e, 
saints]  did  I  shut  up  in  prison " ;  and  in  Romans 
15:  25,  "I  go  unto  Jerusalem  to  minister  unto 
[aYiOLg^  agiois']  the  saints."  Paul  writes  on  various 
occasions,  thus:  "Who  are  sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus,  to  be  called  to  the  holy  persons;"  "To  the 
holy  persons  at  Ephesus";  "To  the  holy  persons 
at  Colosse";  "To  all  the  holy  persons  in  Christ 
Jesus  at  Philippi,"  etc.  To  prove  that  this  inter- 
pretation of  the  terms,  " clean "  and  "unclean,"  is 
correct,  consult  Gen.  7:2;  8:20;  Ex.  28:38;  Lev. 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  85 

10: 16;  27:  30;  :N"um.  18: 17,  where  the  terra,  "un- 
clean," is  used  in  reference  to  things  unfit  for  sac- 
rifices to  God,  and  "holy"  for  things  fit  to  be 
ofiered.  This  sense  of  these  words  was  familiar 
to  the  apostles. 

Paul's  argument,  then,  is.  If  one  believing  pa- 
rent does  not  sanctify  the  marriage,  then  their 
infant  offspring  would  be  aliens  to  the  common- 
wealth of  Israel,  but  now  are  they  admitted  to  be 
partakers  of  the  covenant,  and  within  the  pale  of 
the  Church. 

To  render  this  passage  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  as  Drs.  Gill,  Carson,  and  other  Bap- 
tists do,  "Else  were  your  children  illegitimate,  but 
now  are  they  legitimate,"  would  not  only  do  vio- 
lence to  the  language,  but  would  be  as  absurd  as 
to  say,  "  Else  were  your  children  cripples,  but  now 
are  they  sound." 

This  passage,  properly  interpreted,  is  good  au- 
thority in  support  of  the  continuation  of  infant 
Church  membership  in  modern  times;  and  in- 
stead of  finding  a  prohibitory  precept  anywhere  in 
the  ^NTew  Testament,  we  have  here  a  recognition 
and  republication  of  the  old  Abrahamic  covenant, 
which  entitles  children  to  Church  membership 
noiD  as  well  as  then. 

But  the  Church  and  the  subjects  of  its  mem- 


86  THE   DOCTRINE    OP   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

bership  being  the  same  under  both  dispensations, 
the  initiatory  ordinance  has,  however,  been  changed 
from  that  of  circumcision  to  that  of  baptism,  in 
perfect  harmony  with  what  we  might  expect  un- 
der a  fuller  development  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a 
settled  fact,  that  believing  adults  and  their  infants 
entered  the  visible  Church  by  the  same  door,  the 
same  ordinance.  Circumcision  was,  at  first,  the 
initiatory  rite.  Baptism  is  now  that  rite.  The 
former  was  a  preparatory  and  temporary  affair, 
not  adapted  to  the  milder,  more  enlarged,  and 
universal  application  of  the  gospel.  Under  the 
old  economy,  many  of  her  rituals  were  grievous, 
but  now  Christ  says,  "  My  yoke  is  easy,  and  my 
burden  is  light."  The  severe  is  changed  to  the 
lenient.  Under  the  Jewish  polity,  circumcision 
was  administered  only  to  males,  although  females 
were  admitted  to  Church  membership  without 
the  carnal  sign  or  seal  of  the  covenant,  being  rep- 
resented by  the  males;  but  under  the  broader  dis- 
pensation of  grace,  we  have,  in  baptism,  a  form 
of  the  covenant  sign,  which  is  not  only  milder, 
but  equally  applicable  to  male  and  female.  Such 
a  change,  then,  might  reasonably  be  expected 
under  an  improved  form  of  God's  kingdom.  The 
Jewish  Church  was  in  a  state  of  minority  or  non- 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  87 

age.     (Gal.  4.)     It  was  the  Church  in  fact,  but 
not  in  maturity. 

One  thing  is  incontrovertibly  settled,  viz. :  cir- 
cumcision has  passed  away,  and  baptism  has  come 
in  its  place.  Do  not  both  the  past  and  the  present 
ordinance  answer  the  same  purpose  ?  Do  they  not 
both  signify  the  same  thing,  and  are  they  not  es- 
sentially seals  of  the  same  covenant  ?  Circumcis- 
ion was  the  ceremonial  door  of  entrance  into  the 
visible  Church.  So  is  baptism  now.  Circumcision 
was  the  sign'^  of  a  gracious  covenant.  So  is  bap- 
tism now.  Circumcision  signified  the  "right- 
eousness of  faith."  So  does  baptism  now.  Both, 
then,  have  the  same  import,  the  same  purpose,  in 
the  main.  As  Paul  says,  "  In  whom  also  ye  are 
circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made  without 
hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the 
flesh  by  the  circumcision  of  Christ:  buried  with 
him  in  baptism"  (Col.  2: 11,  12).  The  righteous- 
ness of  faith  was  the  same  in  the  patriarch  and 
in  the  apostle.  Seals  have  changed,  but  the  right- 
eousness of  that  saving  faith  in  the  one  great 
atonement  has  not  changed,  and  cannot  change 
until  the  end  of  time.     If  baptism  has  not  taken 

1.  A  sign  differs  from  the  thing  signified.  See  Rom.  4:11:  "He  (Abra- 
ham) received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the 
faith  which  he  had  yet  being  uncircumcised."  Circumcision  is  that  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  m  the  letter. 


88  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

the  place  of  circumcision,  we  have  now  no  seal  of 
the  covenant,  no  initiatory  sacrament  for  adults. 
But  if  baptism  now  takes  the  place  of  circum- 
cision in  the  Jewish  Church,  it  must  also  be  ap- 
plied to  the  same  subjects,  namely,  believers,  and 
their  infant  children,  unless  we  have  a  new  com- 
mand respecting  subjects.  But  such  a  command 
nowhere  exists. 

Now,  what  was  the  force  of  the  commission 
given  to  the  apostles,  "Go  disciple  all  nations, 
baptizing  them,"  etc.  ?  The  command  does  not 
specify  any  class;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  baptizing  of  adults  and  children  was  no 
new  thing  when  this  commission  was  first  given. 
As  circumcision  gradually  died  out,  the  custom 
of  baptizing  heathen  converts  began  to  prevail,^ 
insomuch  that  no  one  was  surprised,  or  called  it 
an  innovation,  when  John  the  Baptist  adopted  the 
practice  of  baptizing  his  followers.  Dr.  Light- 
foot  says  that  proselyte  baptism  was  a  baptism  of 
families,  and  declares,  "It  was  as  well  known  be- 
fore the  gospel  began  that  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren were  baptized,  as  that  the  sun  is  up." 

1.  Maimonides,  the  great  luminary  of  Judaism,  said,  "  In  all  ages,  when 
a  heathen  was  willing  to  enter  into  the  covenant  of  Israel,  and  gather  him- 
self under  the  wings  of  the  majesty  of  God,  and  take  upon  himself  the 
yoke  of  the  law,  he  must  be  first  circumcised,  and  secondly,  baptized,  and 
thirdly,  bring  a  sacrifice;  or,  il  the  party  were  a  woman,  she  must  first  be 
baptized,  and  secondly,  bring  a  sacrifice."  The  Talmud,  and  many  Jewish 
writers,  speak  distinctly  on  proselyte  baptism. 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  89 

Jesus  before  his  ascension,  ratified  baptism  as 
the  initiatory  rite  into  his  Church.  He  did  not 
say  whether  the  subjects  should  be  adults  or  in- 
fants, or  both.  That  was  too  self-evident.  Whom 
must  the  disciples  have  understood  Christ  to 
mean,  when  he  said,  "Baptizing  them"  t  They 
knew  that  children  were  included  in  the  covenant 
ceremony  from  the  days  of  Abraham  until  the 
Savior  gave  this  great  commission  to  preach  and 
to  baptize;  that  he  did  not  intimate  any  purpose 
to  exclude  children,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  not 
long  before,  blessed  them;  that  he  taught  adults 
that  unless  they  became  as  little  children,  they 
could  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven; 
pronounced  them  fit  subjects  for  the  Church,  and 
charged  us,  "Forbid  them  not."  If  the  com- 
mand had  been,  "Go  preach  the  gospel  which 
was  before  preached  to  Abraham,  circumcising 
them,"  there  could  have  been  no  possibility  of 
denying  that  infants  were  included.  But  now,  in 
this  commission,  "baptizing"  is  substituted  for 
"  circumcising."  How  then  can  an  express  change 
of  sign  make  any  change  in  the  subjects  signified, 
unless  it  be  expressly  so  stated  ? 

"  Suppose,"  says  Dr.  Edwin  Hall,  "  a  man  or- 
ders his  servants  to  mark  the  sheep  of  his  flock 
with  a  bloody  sign,  and  is  careful  to  add, '  See  that 


90  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

you  apply  this  sign  to  all  the  lamhs  also.'  After- 
wards, he  sees  fit  to  dispense  with  the  bloody 
sign  made  with  a  knife  in  the  flesh,  and  ordains 
that  his  servants  mark  his  sheep  with  paint;  but 
he  says  nothing  about  the  lambs.  Will  those 
servants,  because  the  marking  is  a  'positive  in- 
stitution,' argue  that  the  lambs  are  no  longer  to 
be  marked  ?  As  they  buy  more  sheep  with  lambs, 
will  they  mark  the  sheep,  but  say  they  have  no 
warrant  for  marking  the  lambs  ?  The  contrary. 
And  so,  from  the  very  circumstances  of  the  case, 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  understanding  the  design 
and  import  of  baptism,  and  having  been  previ- 
ously accustomed  to  extend  another  sign  of  the 
same  import  and  use  to  children,  would  naturally 
interpret  the  command  to  baptize,  as  implying 
the  baptism  of  infants." 

Our  proposition  is  now  established.  If  the 
Church  of  the  Old  and  the  Kew  Testament  is  one 
and  the  same,  built  upon  the  same  Abrahamic 
covenant;  if  infants  were  included  in  the  cove- 
nant, and  recognized  as  members  of  the  Church 
upon  the  stipulated  sign  of  circumcision ;  if  now 
the  sign,  or  rite  of  initiation,  has  been  changed 
from  circumcision  to  baptism,  while  the  same 
covenant,  embracing  the  same  subjects  and  signi- 
fying the  same  thing,  still  remains   unchanged, 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  91 

the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  the  children  of 
professed  believers  are  now  Church  members,  and 
entitled  to  the  ordinance  of  baptism.  It  is  self- 
evident,  therefore,  that  when  Christ  commanded 
the  apostles  to  baptize  the  nations  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  they  should  act  on  the  principle  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed,  according  to  the 
law  which  made  no  distinction  between  adults  and 
their  children.  There  is  almost  as  much  authority 
for  excluding  believers  as  for  excluding  children. 

Section  II 
Infant  Baptism  in  the  Apostolic  Church. 

Proposition  II. 
There  is  presumptive  and  inductive  evidence 

THAT  the  infants  OF  PROFESSED  CHRISTIANS  WERE 
BAPTIZED   IN   THE   APOSTOLIC   ChURCH. 

In  the  first  proposition,  we  established  the  fact 
that  the  infants  of  believers  had  the  same  right 
to  baptism  that  their  parents  had  enjoyed,  and 
that  this  right  has  never  been  changed  or  revoked 
by  Christ  or  any  of  his  apostles.  What  then 
could  be  more  natural  than  that  when  the  apos- 
tles baptized  a  head  of  a  family,  they  should  also 
baptize  his  infant  children?  At  least,  it  is  im- 
possible to  prove  that  they  never  did  so.     Scrip- 


92  THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

ture  makes  it  evident  that  children  are  fit  subjects 
for  baptism.  The  question  now  is,  Is  it  also  evi- 
dent that  children  were  baptized  in  the  Apostolic 
Church  ? 

We  claim  that  it  is  for  the  following  reasons : 
1.  There  is  not  a  single  instance  in  the  Kew 
Testament,  if  we  except  Christ,  of  a  person  who 
had  grown  up  from  childhood  as  a  member  of  a 
Christian  family,  that  was  baptized  in  adult  years. 
Since  it  has  been  customary  since  the  days  of 
Abraham  to  receive  members  into  the  visible 
Church  through  an  established  ordinance,  the  in- 
ference is  that  such  New  Testament  Christians 
were  initiated  by  being  circumcised  or  baptized 
in  infancy.  Being  "made  under  the  law"  (Gal. 
4:  4),  Christ  was  circumcised  on  the  eighth  day, 
and  also  baptized  in  adult  age.  Why  did  he 
receive  both  ordinances  which,  we  claim,  were 
similar  in  design  as  initiatory  rites?  Let  it  be 
remembered  that  in  Christ's  days  upon  earth  both 
initiatory  ordinances  were  in  force,  but  in  a  tran- 
sitional state,  from  circumcision  to  baptism.  At 
his  birth,  circumcision  was  in  common  practice, 
but  now  baptism  sprang  up  along  side  of  it; 
and  to  sanction  this  latter  as  a  proper  rite  in  lieu 
of  circumcision,  he,  thirty  years  afterward,  sub- 
mitted to  baptism  as  fulfilling  all  righteousness. 


THE    SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  93 

Although  different  in  nature  from  either  Jewish 
circumcision  or  Christian  baptism,  it  was,  never- 
theless, similar  in  design  to  both;  and  Christ's 
observance  of  both  initiatory  ordinances  left  it 
optional  with  men  to  choose  which  one  of  the 
two  they  wished  to  practice. 

Christ's  subsequent  command  to  baptize  his  dis- 
ciples," however,  had  the  effect  of  changing  the 
rite  from  circumcision  to  baptism.  Soon  after  his 
ascension,  much  discussion  arose  as  to  whether 
circumcision  should  continue  to  be  observed.  A 
large  portion  of  the  converts  to  Christianity  had 
come  from  among  the  Israelites.  Some  of  them 
insisted  that  every  Gentile  convert  should  be  cir- 
cumcised before  he  should  be  admitted  to  entire 
fellowship.  To  settle  these  differences,  a  council 
was  called  at  Jerusalem,  where  "There  rose  up 
certain  of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees  which  be- 
lieved, saying,  That  it  was  needful  to  circumcise 
them  (^.  e..  Gentiles),  and  to  command  them  to 
keep  the  law  of  Moses"  (Acts  15:  5).  The  final 
decision  of  this  council  was  publicly  rendered  by 
James,  the  Lord's  brother,  who,  no  doubt,  was 
president  of  this  conference,  as  follows :  "  Where- 
fore my  sentence  is,  that  we  trouble  not  them, 
which  from  among  the  Gentiles  are  turned  to 
God"  (Acts  15: 19).    All  acquiesced,  and  so  there 


94  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

went  forth  a  proclamation  of  emancipation  from 
circumcision,  which  was  destined  to  become  the 
chart  of  liberty  to  the  Church  for  all  ages,  and  in 
all  the  world.  (Cf.  Col.  3:  11.)  However,  as  a 
prudential  conciliation,  Paul  circumcised  Timothy 
after  he  had  been  baptized,  no  doubt,  because  his 
mother  was  a  Jewess  and  his  father  was  a  Greek; 
but  when  he  was  asked  to  circumcise  Titus,  he 
refused,  all  this  indicating  that  there  existed  a 
tendency  to  change  from  the  Jewish  to  the  Chris- 
tian ordinance.  It  was  not  until  some  time  after 
Christ's  resurrection  that  circumcision  was  en- 
tirely abandoned,  and  baptism  took  its  place. 
During  this  transitional  period,  however,  one  or 
the  other  of  these  rites  was  considered  essential 
to  organic  Church  membership. 

The  conclusion  derived  from  all  these  facts  is, 
that  if  adult  Christians  of  the  Kew  Testament 
were  not  baptized  in  mature  years,  they  must 
have  been  baptized  in  infancy.  If  not  baptized, 
then  they  were  circumcised,  which  was  equivalent 
to  baptism. 

2.  The  ITew  Testament  records  several  in- 
stances oi  family  baptisms. 

In  Acts  16:  15,  it  is  said  that  Lydia  "was  bap- 
tized, and  her  household''  In  I.  Cor.  1:  16,  Paul 
says,  "  And  I  baptized  also  the  household  of  Ste- 


THE   SUBJECTS   OP   BAPTISM.  95 

phanas."  Of  the  jailer  at  Philippi,  Acts  16:  33, 
it  is  said  "he  and  all  his'*  were  baptized.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  these  "households"  included 
infants  and  minor  children.  At  least,  the  Syriac, 
one  of  the  oldest  and  best  of  all  versions,  made 
in  the  first  century,  says  of  Lydia,  "  And  she  was 
baptized,  with  her  children.'^ 

The  baptism  of  households,  though  few  upon 
inspired  record,  is  mentioned  in  a  way  that  indi- 
cates its  being  no  extraordinary  occurrence,  but 
a  thing  generally  practiced,  of  course.  There  is 
not  the  least  recorded  symptom  of  opposition,  or 
demurring  against  such  family  baptisms,  simply 
because  the  induction  of  parents  with  their  chil- 
dren was  an  ancient  practice,  well  understood, 
and  never  revoked.  Hence,  the  apostles,  instead 
of  specifying  the  subjects  in  three  words,  by  say- 
ing, "  We  baptize  men,  women,  and  children,''  tell 
lis  in  one  word  (the  import  and  application  of 
which  was  well  understood  by  both  Jew  and 
Gentile)  who  were  the  subjects  of  their  baptism, 
viz.,  "  households,"  which  expression  is  equivalent 
to  adults  and  their  children. 

The  scriptural  use  of  olm  [oikos),  "household," 
is  distinguished  from  oMa  (oikia),  which  not  only 
includes  the  oikos,  but  extends  to  its  appurte- 
nances, servants,  etc.     The  first  is  masculine,  the 


96  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

second  feminine,  and  cannot  be  used  interchange- 
ably. The  former  is  used  in  sense  of  family^  of 
which  children  are  the  primary  objects,  the  latter, 
according  to  Aristotle,  is  used  to  "  comprise  those 
who  are  servants  and  those  who  are  free."  But 
without  depending  on  the  critical  and  discrimi- 
nating import  of  the  word  oikos  and  oikia,  com- 
mon sense  will  suggest  that  if  the  word  oikos,  so 
often  used  in  Scripture,  does  not  always  include, 
it  does  not  invariably  exclude,  little  children.  Who 
would  say  that  none  of  the  oikoi,  "  households," 
to  which  the  apostles  went,  breaking  bread  (Acts 
2: 46),  and  in  which  they  taught  (Acts  5:  42),  con- 
tained infants  and  children  ?  To  place  the  ques- 
tion beyond  a  doubt,  Paul  says  that  a  bishop  is 
"  One  that  ruleth  well  his  own  [oikou]  house,  hav- 
ing his  children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity"  (I. 
Tim.  3:4).  Why  then  should  it  seem  a  thing  in- 
credible that  the  ''household,"  in  Acts  16: 15,  and 
I.  Cor.  1:  16,  also  included  little  ones?  If  chil- 
dren were  included,  they  were  also  baptized,  unless 
a  law  existed  which  forbade  them  this  privilege. 
To  justify  infant  baptism,  it  should  be  deemed 
enough  to  find  an  ancient  law  of  God  sanctioning 
such  an  ordinance,  even  though  not  a  single  ex- 
ample of  infant  baptism  could  be  found.  But 
we  have  both  precept  and  example. 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  97 

Section  III. 

Testimony  of  Church  Fathers. 

Proposition  III. 

The  testimony  of  the  early  Church  fathers 
corroborates    these    evidences    that    children 

WERE    BAPTIZED   IN   THE   ApOSTOLiC    ChURCH. 

1.  Justin  Martyr^  about  forty  years  after  the 
death  of  St.  John,  a.  d.  140,  wrote  his  Prima 
Apologia,  in  which  he  says,  "Many  persons  of 
both  sexes,  some  sixty  and  some  seventy  years 
old,  were  made  disciples  to  Christ /rom  childhood.'* 
They  must,  therefore,  have  been  baptized  during 
the  lifetime  of  some  of  the  apostles;  for  Jude, 
Thomas,  and  Luke  died  about  a.  d.  74,  and  John, 
A.  D.  100;  and  hence,  at  the  time  of  these  child 
baptisms,  they  {i.  e.,  apostles)  were  still  living 
witnesses.  In  his  Dialogue  ivith  Trypho,  he  tells 
us  that  they  received  baptism  in  place  of  circum- 
cision, "We  are  circumcised  by  baptism  with 
Christ's  circumcision."  If  infant  baptism  is  an 
heretical,  human  innovation,  it  was  introduced 
twenty  or  thirty  years  before  the  death  of  St. 
John;  yea,  about  twenty  years  before  he  wrote 
the  book  of  Revelation,  and  his  three  epistles. 
If  this  practice  had  been  an  odious  innovation, 
why  did  he  not  oppose  or  denounce  it  as  he  did 


98  THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes  ?  His  silence 
in  the  epistles  and  Revelation  sanctions  its  ob- 
servance. We  have  pedobaptism  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles  without  opposition. 

2.  Irenceus,  born  three  years  before  the  death 
of  St.  John,  lived  about  thirty  or  forty  years  after 
the  apostles.  He  says,  "  The  Church  learned  from 
the  apostles  to  baptize  children." 

3.  Te7iullian,  born  about  A.  d.  145,  in  his 
treatise,  De  Baptismo,  opposes  infant  baptism,  not 
because  it  was  unauthorized  by  Scripture,  but  be- 
cause he  considered  it  too  important  an  ordinance 
for  uninstructed  children,  since  its  blessing  once 
forfeited  could  never  be  retrieved  nor  restored. 
He  had  imbibed  the  superstitious  doctrine  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration,  that  it  actually  washed  away 
all  past  sins;  and  that  sins  committed  after  bap- 
tism were,  therefore,  peculiarly  dangerous,  and 
that  the  atonement  of  Christ  availed  only  for  the 
pardon  of  sins  committed  before  baptism,  that 
post-baptismal  sins  are  unpardonable,  or  must  be 
atoned  for  by  the  sinner  himself.  Hence  he  ad- 
vised that  not  only  infants,  but  young  men  and 
women,  and  even  young  widows  and  widowers 
should  delay  baptism  until  they  should  be  less 
exposed  to  temptation;  and,  as  a  result  of  his 
teaching,  for  one  hundred  years  many  Christians 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.  99 

postponed  their  baptism  until  the  close  of  life. 
Constantine  followed  this  example. 

Tertullian's  opposition  to  infant  baptism  proves 
its  existence  in  the  early  Church.  He  does  not  at- 
tempt to  show,  as  many  of  our  Anabaptists  do, 
that  infant  baptism  is  an  innovation,  or  unlaw- 
ful, or  that  it  was  not  practiced  in  the  Apostolic 
Church,  all  of  which  w^ould  have  been  weighty  ar- 
guments in  his  age,  but  he  opposes  it  for  reasons 
which  both  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists  regard  as 
futile  and  erroneous.  It  is  enough  to  our  pur- 
pose to  have  this  testimony,  that  infants  were 
baptized  in  Tertullian's  time,  and  that  his  prede- 
cessor, Ir^neeus,  says  that  this  practice  they  "  learned 
from  the  apostles  J' 

4.  Origen,  born  a.  d.  185,  the  most  learned  of 
the  fathers,  was  baptized  in  infancy.  In  his  Com- 
mentary on  Bomans  (Lib.  Y.,  cap.  9),  he  says,  "  The 
Church  received  a  tradition  or  injunction  from 
the  apostles  to  give  baptism 'even  to  infants." 

5.  Ambrose  says,  "The  baptism  of  infants  had 
been  the  practice  of  the  apostles  and  of  the 
Church  till  now." 

6.  Cyprian^  and  his  council  of  sixty-six  bish- 
ops, held  at  Carthage  about  two  hundred  years 
after  Christ,  in  answer  to  a  question  proposed 
by  Fidus,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  delay 


100         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

the  baptism  of  infants  till  the  eighth  day  after 
their  birth,  answered  thus:  "So  far  as  pertains 
to  the  case  of  infants  whom  you  think  ought  not 
to  be  baptized  within  the  second  or  third  day 
from  their  birth,  and  that  the  ancient  law  of  cir- 
cumcision should  be  observed,  so  that  none  should 
be  baptized  and  sanctified  before  the  eighth  day 
after  birth,  it  seems  to  all  in  council  far  other- 
wise. On  the  contrary,  it  was  our  unanimous 
decision,  that  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God  should 
not  be  denied  to  any  as  soon  as  born."  This  de- 
cision of  an  ancient  general  Church  council  estab- 
lished the  fact  that,  two  Jaunded  years  after  Christ, 
the  practice  of  infant  baptism  was  universal,  no 
one  disputing  its  validity.  Fidus  only  wished  to 
postpone  it  until  the  child  was  eight  days  old. 

7.  Augustine  says,  "  The  custom  of  our  mother 
Church  in  baptizing  infants  must  not  be  disre- 
garded, nor  accounted  needless,  nor  believed  to 
be  anything  else  than  an  ordinance  delivered  to 
us  from  the  apostles,"  and  declares  that  "it  was 
not  instituted  by  any  council,  but  was  always  in 
use."    This  testimony  alone  should  be  conclusive. 

8.  Pelagius,  in  his  celebrated  controversy  with 
Augustine  on  original  sin,  was  accused  of  deny- 
ing the  right  of  infant  baptism,  whereupon  he 
exclaimed,    "Men  slander  me  as  if  I  denied  the 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  101 

sacrament  of  baptism  to  infants.  I  never  heard 
of  any  one,  even  the  most  impious  heretic,  who 
asserted  that  infants  are  not  to  be  baptized." 

Many  more  testimonies  could  be  produced  from 
the  patristic  ranks  did  we  deem  it  necessary  to 
multiply  proof  further.  The  witnesses  to  infant 
baptism  are  as  numerous  as  those  to  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ.  "We  appeal  to  the  testimony 
of  the  Church  fathers,  not  on  account  of  the 
soundness  of  their  theology ;  for  all  through  their 
writings  comes  up  their  notion  that  baptism  was 
for  the  remission  of  sins  —  a  kind  of  saving,  in- 
stead of  symbolic,  ordinance;  but  because  they 
are  witnesses  to  an  historical  fact,  that  infant  bap- 
tism was  everywhere  practiced  for  hundreds  of 
years  after  Christ,  without  any  denial  of  its  ap- 
pointment by  God  to  be  continued  forever  during 
the  history  of  the  visible  Church. 

What  now  is  the  conclusion  from  the  premises 
discussed  in  this  chapter  ?  It  is  an  incontroverti- 
ble fact  that  infant  baptism  existed  in  the  days 
of  the  Church  fathers.  Whence  did  they  get 
it  ?  Irenseus,  Origen,  and  Augustine  concur  in 
answering,  "From  the  apostles."  Whence  did 
the  apostles  get  it  ?  From  Christ,  and  the  estab- 
lished custom  of  "  household "  baptisms  in  their 
day.     Whence    did    the    "household"    baptisms 


102         THE   DOCTRINE   OF  CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

come  ?  From  the  ancient  days  of  Abraham, 
when  family  circumcisions  served  the  place  of 
family  baptisms.  From  whom  did  Abraham  get 
his  authority  ?     From  Jehovah. 

Here  we  have  reached  the  highest  authority 
for  infant  baptism.  We  have  reached  a  double 
authority.  The  practice  of  infant  baptism  is 
based,  first  and  chiefly,  on  Christ's  command  to 
baptize  the  "  nations,"  irrespective  of  age  or  ca- 
pacity; and  secondly,  in  the  continuation  of  an 
ancient  covenant  made  by  God  with  Abraham, 
which  recognized  our  little  ones  as  part  of  God's 
spiritual  kingdom,  and  enjoins  us  to  consecrate 
them  to  the  Lord  and  his  service  forever;  and 
until  some  one  can  prove  that  children  are  unfit 
subjects  for  this  ordinance,  or  that  it  has  been  re- 
pealed, do  we  claim  the  right  of  its  observance  at 
the  present  day. 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.         103 


CHAPTER   III. 

bOME  OBJECTIONS  TO  INFANT  BAPTISM  CONSIDERED. 

1.  Baptism  should  not  be  administered  to  an  un- 
conscious, especially  unregenerate,  person. 

The  objector  regards  the  application  of  bap- 
tism to  infants  as  a  useless  expedient,  if  not  a 
sinful  mockery  of  a  divine  institution;  "For,"  he 
says,  "  an  ordinance  which  signifies  inward  cleans- 
ing is  applied,  not  only  to  a  subject  that  is  now 
unconverted,  but  that  may  never  be  converted." 

So  far  as  the  bare  act  is  concerned,  there  can 
be  no  virtue  in  it,  either  to  an  adult  or  an  infant. 
It  is  no  saving  device,  no  regenerating  instru- 
ment, but  a  symbolic  act;  and  as  such,  is  a  seal 
of  covenant  relation  appointed  by  God  as  a  per- 
petual token  of  his  great  promise.  If  we  cannot 
understand  the  reason  for  its  appointment,  we 
should  be  satisfied  to  know  that  God  ordained  it, 
no  doubt,  for  some  wise  purpose. 

But  unconscious,  unregenerate  infants  were  al- 
so circumcised.  The  objection  against  this  would 
be  the  same  as  that  against  infant  baptism,  viz.: 
of  what  benefit  to  the  unconscious  child  ?     Paul, 


104         THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

it  seems,  anticipated  this  objection  when  he  asked 
(Rom.  3:  1),  "What  advantage  then  hath  the 
Jew  ?  or  what  profit  is  there  of  circumcision  ? " 
and  gives  the  true  answer,  "Much  every  way: 
chiefiy,  because  that  unto  them  were  committed  the 
oracles  of  GodJ^  Whatever  minor  points  were 
indicated  by  this  ordinance,  the  chief  one  was 
that  Abraham's  posterity  were  heirs  of  the  prom- 
ise, and  circumcision  was  its  sign,  as  the  rainbow 
was  a  sign  of  God's  promise  to  Noah.  "For 
what  if  some  did  not  believe  ?  shall  their  unbelief 
[Revised  Version,  "want  of  faith,"]  make  the 
faith  of  God  without  effect  ?  [Revised  Version, 
"  of  none  effect  the  faithfulness  of  God  "  ?]  God 
forbid:  yea,  let  God  be  true,  but  every  man  a 
liar"  (Rom.  3:  3,  4).  Circumcision,  like  baptism, 
was  not  only  a  seal  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant, 
but  signified  inward  cleansing  "  in  the  heart,  and 
in  the  spirit."  But  what  if  the  rite  be  adminis- 
tered to  children,  says  Paul,  who  "did  not  be- 
lieve ?"  "Shall  their  unbelief  \i,  e.,  unregenerate 
state,]  make  the  faith  [covenant]  of  God  without 
effect?"  Shall  this  nullify  the  ordinance  that  it 
should  not  be  applied  to  infants  ? 

Let  no  one,  in  derision,  call  infant  baptism, 
^'baby  sprinkling,''  or  ''base  mockery.''  !No  doubt, 
in  the  Jewish  nation,  there  were  mockers  who 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  105 

were  severely  rebuked  for  ridiculing  infant  cir- 
cumcision; even  Moses  might  have  lost  his  life 
for  not  paying  proper  respect  to  that  divine  ordi- 
nance. (See  Ex.  4:  24-27.)  All  fault  finding  with 
a  divine  appointment  is,  to  say  the  least,  irreverent. 

But  will  this  act  of  consecration  be  of  no  bene- 
fit to  the  child  ?  Will  the  obligation  which  the 
parent  assumes  to  "  train  up  the  child  in  the  fear 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  and  the  earnest 
prayers  that  the  benefits  of  the  covenant  may  be 
bestowed  upon  the  child,  be  of  no  avail  in  its  re- 
ligious education  ?  Was  it  no  benefit  to  Samuel 
that  his  pious  mother  "lent"  him  to  the  Lord 
from  his  early  childhood  ?  These  solemn  obliga- 
tions, faithfully  kept,  have  been  blessed  of  God 
to  the  conversion  of  many  who  otherwise  might 
have  been  lost  to  the  Church.  From  published 
official  returns,  it  has  been  observed,  that  two 
thirds  of  all  that  are  received  into  Pedobaptist 
Churches  on  profession  of  faith  have  been  bap- 
tized in  infancy.  This  shows  something  of  the 
influence  of  baptismal  vows  upon  those  who  are 
the  subjects  of  paternal  training. 

2.  '•'Infant  baptism  deprives  the  subject  of  the 
rights  of  private  judgment,  and  therefore  is  contra?^ 
to  the  word  of  God.''  [Preface  to  Woolsey's  "  His- 
tory of  Baptism."  ] 


106         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

This  objection  is  answered  by  Eidgley,  in  his 
"Divinity,"  volume  lY.,  p.  187,  wbere  he  says: 
"Consent  is  not  necessary;  for  infants  receive 
inheritances.  This  by  force  of  municipal  laws. 
But  are  not  the  laws  of  God  of  equal  force  ? 
^Baptism  (it  is  said)  implies  obligations,  which 
can  be  founded  only  in  consent.'  Then  it  will 
follow  that  infants  are  not  bound  by  human  laws, 
for  they  have  not  assented  to  the  social  compact. 
They  are  (moreover)  under  no  obligations  to  obey 
their  parents,  guardians,  or  masters,  because  they 
either  did  not  choose  them,  or  were  incompetent 
to  make  such  choice,  l^ay,  further,  they  are  not 
bound  by  the  laws  of  God  himself,  because  they 
have  not  consented  to  his  authority;  and  if  they 
never  consent,  they  will  always  be  equally  free 
from  all  obligations  and  all  sin.  Such  are  the 
consequences  of  the  above  obligation." 

3.  Faith  is  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  necessary 
to  baptism,  but  since  infants  cannot  believe,  therefore 
they  should  not  be  baptized. 

All  passages  making  faith  a  qualification  for 
baptism,  have  reference  to  adults,  otherwise  the 
same  reason  for  excluding  infants  from  baptism 
would  also  exclude  them  from  heaven.  "  He  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Infants  cannot 
believe,  therefore  infants  are  damned.     It  is  also 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.         107 

said  in  sacred  writ,  "If  any  would  not  work, 
neither  should  he  eat."  Infants  cannot  work, 
therefore  infants  must  not  eat.  "Except  ye  re- 
pent, ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  All  conclu- 
sions founded  on  such  reasoning  are  erroneous. 

But  the  element  of  faith  is  not  ignored  as  im- 
portant even  in  pedobaptism.  The  child  is  not 
baptized  upon  a  profession  of  its  faith,  but  upon 
that  of  its  parent,  or  sponsor.  Such  vicarious 
faith  on  the  part  of  parent  has  often  been  of 
great  benefit  to  the  child.  It  restored  Jairus' 
dead  daughter  to  life,  and  healed  the  afflicted 
child  of  the  SyrophcEnician  woman;  and  this 
while  they  were  as  unconscious  of  the  act  of  the 
parent  as  the  slumbering  child  is  when  the  believ- 
ing mother  offers  it  to  God  in  holy  baptism.  If 
the  covenant  with  Noah,  and  his  faith,  availed  to 
the  saving  of  his  household  from  the  flood,  why 
may  we  not  believe  that,  in  like  manner,  God's 
covenant  with  Christian  parents,  and  their  faith 
will  avail  to  the  saving  of  their  children,  if  they 
continue,  by  well-doing,  to  walk  in  all  the  com- 
mandments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless  ? 

4.  If  infants  ought  to  be  baptized,  they  ought 
also  to  be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper, 

i^ot  at  all,  until  they  have  knowledge  to  "dis- 
cern   the   Lord's   body."     We   must  distinguish 


108         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

between  the  design  of  these  two  ordinances. 
Baptism  is  a  formal  reception  of  God's  covenant; 
while  the  eucharist  is  a  grateful  recognition  and 
remembrance  of  the  atonement  made  by  Christ  in 
our  behalf,  and  requires  of  its  participants  a  the- 
oretical knowledge  of  God's  method  of  salvation. 
The  absence  of  such  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the 
infant,  disqualifies  it  to  engage  in  its  observance. 
As  circumcision  has  been  succeeded  by  bap- 
tism, so  the  passover  has  been  succeeded  by  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Circumcised  infants  were  not 
admitted  to  the  passover  until  they  could  under- 
stand its  significance,  although  Horn,  in  his  "  In- 
troduction to  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  informs  us 
that  the  Jews  were  accustomed  to  "clear  the 
tables,  that  the  children  might  inquire  and  be 
instructed  in  the  nature  of  the  feast."  Christ, 
though  circumcised  in  infancy,  did  not  attend 
the  passover  until  twelve  years  of  age,  "  after  the 
custom  of  the  feast"  (Luke  2:  42),  which  was, 
according  to  eminent  commentators,  the  earliest 
age  at  which  children  might  be  admitted  to  the 
feast.  (See  Calvin,  Patrick,  Poole,  Rosenmiiller, 
KUhnol,  Bloomfield,  and  Doddridge.)  Stackhouse 
("  History  of  the  Holy  Bible,"  b.  8.,  c.  1.)  says,  "  Till 
a  child  was  twelve  years  old,  he  was  not  obliged 
to  go  to  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  the  passover." 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.         109 

Twelve  years  old.  This  was  the  transition  age 
from  childhood  to  manhood,  when  it  became  in- 
dependent of  parental  support,  and  was  supposed 
to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  life.  Comment- 
ing on  this  age  of  a  Jewish  boy,  Dr.  F.  W.  Farrar 
says:  "It  was  the  age  at  which,  according  to 
Jewish  legend,  Moses  had  left  the  house  of  Pha- 
raoh's daughter;  and  Samuel  had  heard  the  voice 
which  summoned  him  to  the  prophetic  office; 
and  Solomon  had  given  the  judgment  which  first 
revealed  his  possession  of  wisdom;  and  Josiah 
had  first  dreamed  of  his  great  reform.  At  this 
age,  a  boy  of  whatever  rank  was  obliged,  by  the 
injunction  of  the  rabbis  and  the  custom  of  his 
nation,  to  learn  a  trade  for  his  own  support.  At 
this  age,  he  was  so  far  emancipated  from  parental 
authority  that  his  parents  could  no  longer  sell 
him  as  a  slave.  At  this  age,  he  became  a  ben  hat- 
torah,  or  '  son  of  the  law.'  Up  to  this  age,  he 
Avas  called  katou,  or  'little;'  henceforth  he  was 
gadol,  or  '  grown  up,'  and  was  treated  more  as  a 
man;  henceforth,  too,  he  began  to  wear  the  tephil- 
lin,  or  'phylacteries,'  and  was  presented  by  his 
father  in  the  synagogue  on  a  Sabbath,  which  was 
called  from  this  circumstance,  the  shabbath  tephil- 
tin.  E'ay,  more,  according  to  one  Eabbinical 
treatise,  the  Sepher  Gilgulijn,  up  to  this  age  a  boy 


110         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

only  possessed  the  nephesh,  or  animal  life;  but 
henceforth  he  began  to  acquire  the  ruach,  or  spirit, 
which,  if  his  life  were  virtuous,  would  develop, 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  into  the  nishema,  or  reason- 
able soul. 

This  point,  too, —  the  completion  of  the  twelfth 
year,  —  formed  a  decisive  epoch  in  the  Jewish 
boy's  education.  According  to  Juda  Ben  Tema, 
at  Jive  he  was  to  study  the  Scriptures  (Mikra);  at 
ten,  the  Mishna;  at  thirteen,  the  Talmud;  at 
eighteen  he  was  to  marry;  at  twenty,  to  acquire 
riches;  at  thirty,  strength;  at  forty,  prudence; 
and  so  on  to  the  end.  Nor  must  we  forget,  in 
considering  this  narrative,  that  the  Hebrew  race, 
and,  indeed.  Orientals  generally,  develop  with  a 
precocity  unknown  among  ourselves,  and  that 
boys  of  this  age  (as  we  learn  from  Josephus) 
could  and  did  fight  in  battle,  and  that,  to  the 
great  detriment  of  the  age,  it  is  to  this  day  re- 
garded as  a  marriageable  age  among  the  Jews  of 
Palestine  and  Asia  Minor"  (Life  of  Christ,  p.  31). 

The  time,  however,  at  which  a  child  is  capable 
of  discerning  the  body  of  the  Lord  does  not  de- 
pend so  much  upon  a  fixed  number  of  years,  but 
upon  mental  and  religious  developments.  But 
no  such  age  and  qualification,  on  the  part  of  the 
child,  are  necessary  to  baptism. 


THE  SUBJECTS  OP  BAPTISM.        Ill 

"We  must  also  distinguish  between  infant  and 
adult  membership.  Our  little  ones  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States  as  truly  as  their  parents  by 
virtue  of  inherited  birthright,  but  while  in  their 
minority  they  are  not  entitled  to  the  privileges 
of  the  ballot-box  because  of  a  want  of  prescribed 
qualification.  Likewise  children  are  members  of 
the  Church  by  virtue  of  the  atonement,  and  enti- 
tled to  the  benefits  of  its  initiatory  ordinance,  but 
not  until  converted  and  instructed  can  they  par- 
ticipate in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
"  The  apostles  baptized  households,  but  never  ad- 
mitted households  as  such  to  the  supper "  (A.  A. 
Hodge,  "Outlines  of  Systematic  Theology,"  p. 
499).  Therefore,  in  the  case  of  the  child,  a  quali- 
fication for  baptism  is  not  necessarily  a  qualifica- 
tion for  the  sacred  communion. 

5.  Christ  was  not  baptized  in  infancy,  and  we 
should,  like  him,  ivait  until  adidt  years. 

We  have  before  observed  that  Christ  was  cir- 
cumcised in  infancy,  and  that  this  was  the  Jewish 
rite  of  induction  into  the  Church  which  took  the 
place  of  our  infant  baptism  in  modern  times. 
His  baptism  by  John  at  thirty  years  of  age,  at  the 
formal  commencement  of  his  Messianic  career, 
was  a  public  recognition  of  the  new  rite  of  initia- 
tion, just  as  his  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the 


112         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

week  as  Sabbath,  sanctioned  its  future  observ- 
ance in  place  of  the  seventh  day.  In  Christ's 
time,  when  the  Church  was  changing  from  the 
Jewish  to  the  Christian  type,  he  often  observed 
the  ordinances  peculiar  to  both.  It  was  not  until 
after  his  resurrection,  and  before  his  ascension, 
that  he  commanded  to  baptize  all  nations,  and 
that  circumcision,  as  a  rite,  ceased.  Christ's  ex- 
ample, therefore,  in  respect  to  his  circumcision  on 
the  eighth  day  after  birth,  and  baptism  at  thirty 
years  of  age,  was  not  intended  to  be  imitated  by 
any  of  his  followers.  The  first  rite,  which  he 
received  in  infancy,  namely,  circumcision,  was 
essentially  and  properly  our  pedobaptism,  and 
the  second  rite,  in  adult  years,  was  really  no  bap- 
tism in  the  Christian  sense.     (See  pp.  42-44.) 

6.  Persons  baj^tized  in  infancy  may,  after  their 
conversion  in  adult  years,  desire  to  be  re-baptized. 

Such  a  possibility  of  dissatisfaction  with  first 
baptism,  cannot  set  aside  the  weight  of  testimony 
in  favor  of  infant  baptism.  Some  are  not  satis- 
fied with  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  Sabbath, 
but  their  protest  does  not  overthrow  the  validity 
of  our  Lord's  day.  Baptism  is  a  standing  cove- 
nant; and,  on  the  part  of  God,  needs  no  renewals 
or  repetitions.  By  it  the  child  sacramentally  ac- 
cepts all  the  covenant  blessings  of  salvation.     If 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  BAPTISM.         113 

afterward  it  forfeits  its  title  to  salvation  by  dis- 
obedience and  unbelief,  and  in  adult  years  is  par- 
doned and  re-instated,  it  only  recovers  its  title  to 
salvation  which  it  had  unconditionally  in  infancy. 
It  only  returns  to  fulfill  its  part  in  the  contract. 
There  need  be  no  second  formal  engagement. 
God's  terms  of  salvation  are  unchangeable ;  and 
the  holder  of  this  docket  is  entitled  to  its  benefits 
only  during  the  time  in  which  he  is  faithful  to  his 
part  of  the  stipulated  covenant.  When  a  natu- 
ralized man,  after  having  taken  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance, violates  the  laws  of  his  country,  it  does 
not  annul  the  obligation  involved  in  the  oath  of 
allegiance.  Circumcision  was  not  repeated  to  a 
Jew.  Baptism  need  not  be  repeated  to  a  Christian. 
Whether  or  not  an  infant  baptized  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church,  and  in  adult  years  uniting 
with  the  Protestant  Church,  should  be  re-bap- 
tized, is  an  open  question.  Since  the  reformation, 
the  Roman  Church,  compelled  by  its  old  usage 
and  principles,  continued  for  some  time  to  ac- 
knowledge the  validity  of  Protestant  baptism, 
while  Protestants  in  turn  admitted  the  validity  of 
Roman  Catholic  baptism.  The  question  of  re- 
baptizing  converts  from  the  Romish  Church,  has 
recently  been  discussed  in  various  Church  councils 
without  reaching  any  definite  conclusion. 


114         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

7.  As  infaiits  are  saved  loithout  baptism,  it  is 
useless  to  administer  it  to  them  J' 

But  the  same  objection  miglit  be  offered  against 
adult  baptism,  since  we  do  not  consider  this  ordi- 
nance essential  to  the  salvation  of  either  adult  or 
infant.  If  of  no  saving  efficacy,  why  observe 
such  empty  ceremony  ?  We  are  not  always  able 
to  give  a  reason  for  God's  commandments.  It  is 
the  province  of  faith  and  obedience  to  follow  the 
Lord's  directions  without  asking  any  questions, 
for  it  is  said,  ""What  I  do  thou  knowest  not 
now;  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter,"  and,  "If 
ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." 

But  is  infant  baptism  a  useless  device  ?  Is  it 
no  means  of  grace  ?  Is  it  no  instrumentality 
of  spiritual  edification  to  the  parent  and  child  ? 
Does  the  solemn  act  of  presenting  a  child  to  God, 
and  entering  into  responsible  engagements  to 
rear  it  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,  have  no  spiritual  influence  upon  the  heart 
and  lives  of  parent  and  child  ?  How  many  such 
pledges  have  been  sanctified  to  the  salvation  of 
whole  families,  eternity  alone  can  tell !  None  of 
God's  institutions  are  vain  things.  !N'one  of  the 
subjects  of  his  atonement,  if  prepared,  are  to  be 
denied  the  initiatory  rite  into  his  Church;  and 
whenever  a  father  or  mother  seeks  membership 


THE    SUBJECTS   OF   BAPTISM.  115 

in  the  Lord's  fold,  parental  instinct,  sanctified  by 
divine  grace,  prompts  him  or  her  to  say,  "Here 
Lord  am  I  and  the  children  whom  thou  hast 
given  me."  And  His  blessed  response  has  always 
been,  "Suffer  Tittle  children  to  come  unto  me, 
and  forbid  them  not." 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  .of  infant  bap- 
tism, we  will  add  a  remark  upon  the  question. 
Whose  children  are  pro2yer  subjects  for  baptism? 

All  infants,  irrespective  of  ancestry,  are  born 
alike,  so  far  as  their  moral  condition  is  concerned. 
!N"o  grace  of  sanctification  or  degree  of  spiritual 
attainments  in  this  life  on  the  part  of  the  parent, 
can  intercept  the  transmission  of  inherited  de- 
pravity upon  their  offspring.  So  no  infant,  on 
the  ground  of  natural  descent  from  wicked  pa- 
rents, is  excluded  from  the  gracious  provisions 
of  the  atonement,  which  provides  unconditional 
salvation  for  all  the  innocents  of  the  human 
race.  There  is,  then,  no  difference  in  moral  adap- 
tation of  all  infants  to  membership  in  the  visible 
Church. 

But  all  this  is  no  reason  why  every  parent's  in- 
fant should  be  baptized.  Baptism  is  not  merely 
a  ceremony  of  Church  relationship,  showing  who 
are  members  of  God's  kingdom,  but  especially  a 
covenant,  in  which  the  baptized,  or  his  lawful  rep- 


116         THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

resentative,  engages  to  do  certain  things,  and 
thereby  solemnly  consecrates  himself  or  his  child 
to  God  and  his  service.  It  is  an  act  of  faith. 
Christian  parents  (both,  or  either  one  of  them, 
according  to  I.  Cor.  7 :  14,)  who  themselves  give 
evidence  of  godliness,  and  faith  in  the  Lord,  are 
proper  persons  to  bring  their  children  to  baptism. 
They  alone  are  spiritually  qualified  to  execute  the 
baptismal  vow,  by  obligating  themselves  to  teach 
their  baptized  children  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  to 
watch  over  their  spiritual  welfare,  to  restrain 
them  from  evil  associates  and  habits,  and  as  much 
as  in  them  lieth,  "  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 

The  officiating  clergyman,  before  he  consecrates 
a  child  by  baptism,  must  demand  from  some  re- 
sponsible person  a  guarantee  that  proper  relig- 
ious training  will  be  administered  to  the  baptized 
child.  Of  course,  religious  parents  can  give  the 
best  guarantee,  when  they  themselves  walk  in 
the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord. 
The  apostles  baptized  the  households  only  of  be- 
lievers, evidently  because  ungodly  parents  cannot 
dedicate  their  children  to  God  in  sincerity;  for, 
to  assume  the  baptismal  vow,  except  "in  good 
faith,"  would  defeat  the  great  design  of  the  ordi- 
nance, and  expose  it  to  open  scandal. 


THE   SUBJECTS   OF  BAPTISM.  117 

As  a  substitute  for  the  unfitness  of  irreligious 
parents  to  assume  baptismal  pledges  in  behalf  of 
their  children,  some  have  admitted  sponsors,  who 
shall  not  only  be  witnesses  of  the  covenant,  but 
actually  take  the  place  of  the  parent  in  pledging 
and  administering  the  future  education  of  the 
child.  But  unless  these  sponsors  also  adopt  the 
child,  or  in  some  other  way  become  its  sole  mas- 
ter, or  absolute  governor,  they  can  not  take  the 
place  of  the  parents  while  they  are  living. 


The  Doctrine  of  Christian  Baptism. 


FJSS.K.T    III. 


THE  MODE  OF  BIPTISM. 


119 


THE  MODE  OF  BSPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   MAIN    PROPOSITION   OF   DISCUSSION. 

The  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ 
has  always  accorded  to  her  communicants  liberty 
of  conscience,  or  the  right  to  exercise  their  own 
private  judgments  in  matters  pertaining  to  non- 
essentials. 

In  her  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  upon  the  subject 
of  baptism,  she  says,  "The  manner  of  which ^ 
p.  6.,  the  mode  of  administering  the  ordinance] 
ought  always  to  be  left  to  the  judgment  and  un- 
derstanding of  every  individual."  According  to 
this  article  of  faith,  the  officiating  clergyman  has 
no  right  to  dictate  to  the  subject  for  baptism  the 
mode  of  applying  the  water  to  the  candidate,  in 
the  observance  of  this  ordinance.  This  preroga- 
tive rests  entirely  with  the  applicant.    The  Church 

1.  The  late  Church  Commission  on  Revision  of  Confession  of  Faith  and 
Constitution,  renders  it,  "  Thernode  of  baptism." 

121 


122         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

looks  upon  the  mode  with  entire  indifierence, 
and  respects  the  honest  convictions  of  everybody 
in  this  matter. 

This  article  of  confession  conceding  liberty  of 
conscience  is  not  adopted  out  of  a  motive  of  ac- 
commodation, or  a  desire  to  adapt  itself  to  the 
prejudices  and  peculiarities  of  all  Churches  and 
persons;  but  because  it  is  most  in  harmony  with 
Scripture,  reason,  and  common  sense. 

So  incidental  a  question  as  whether  one  should 
be  sprinkled  or  immersed  in  baptism,  is  as  unim- 
portant in  the  role  of  Christian  duty,  as  was  the 
controversy  between  the  Jew  and  the  Corinthian 
Gentile  concerning  things  oftered  unto  idols,  the 
former  maintaining  that  it  was  wrong  to  eat 
those  things  offered  unto  idols,  and  the  Corin- 
thian, on  the  contrary,  contending  that  it  was 
fight  to  do  so.  On  this  much  controverted  sub- 
ject, Paul  was  appealed  to  for  advice;  and  his 
answer  was,  "Whatsoever  is  sold  in  the  sham- 
bles, that  eat,  asking  no  question  for  conscience' 
sake"  (I.  Cor.  10:  25);  "Meat  commendeth  us 
not  to  God"  (I.  Cor.  8:  8);  "Let  not  him  that 
eateth  despise  him  that  eateth  not;  and  let  not 
him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth" 
(Rom.  14 :  3) ;  "  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind"  (Rom.  14:  5).     Such  passages 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  123 

plainly  teach  that  so  small  a  matter  as  the  eating 
or  not  eating  of  meat  oflered  unto  idols,  was, 
per  se,  without  any  attribute  of  moral  character. 
Eating  gives  no  spiritual  advantage,  and  not  eat- 
ing is  no  spiritual  loss.  The  advice  is,  do  as  you 
please.  Were  the  subject  of  modalism  in  baptism 
submitted  to  Paul,  he  would,  no  doubt,  answer  in 
a  similar  way;  and  classify  this  mooted  question 
with  his  list  of  non-essentials,  such  as  "meat, 
drink,  an  holyday,  a  new  moon,  or  a  sabbath  day," 
of  which  he  said,  "Let  no  man  therefore  judge 
you"  in  these  things  (Col.  2:  16). 

Yet  unimportant  as  is  this  insignificant  ques- 
tion, it  has  become  a  battle  field  for  endless  con- 
troversy. Thousands  of  pens,  sharp  as  swords, 
have  been  engaged  in  the  conflict,  and  hundreds 
of  books  have  been  written  pro  and  con;^  and 
now,  after  a  literary  warfare  of  more  than  a 
hundred  years  upon  the  question.  Is  sprinkling, 
pouring,  or  immersing  the  only  proper  Bible 
mode  of  baptism  ?  the  victory,  to-day,  is  unde- 
cided. Contestants  on  either  side  are  beginning 
to  feel  the  insecurity  of  their  position;  so  that 
just  now  there  is  a  temporary  lull  in  the  storm, 
a  seeming  respite  in  trying  to  further  defend  a 

1.  A  gentleman  in  Philadelphia  has  collected  "  more  than  three  thou- 
sand works,  large  and  small,  on  Baptism,"  says  Dr.  Hamilton,  in  his  Prefa- 
tory Note  to  "  Compendium  of  Baptism,"  p.  6. 


124         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

vulnerable  cause;  each  party  is  making  some 
concessions  to  the  other,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  soon  they  will  amicably  compromise  their 
quarrel  by  allowing  that  sprinkling,  pouring,  and 
immersing  are  all  right  and  scriptural,  and  should 
be  administered  indiscriminately,  according  to  the 
wish  and  judgment  of  the  applicant. 

This  is  the  principle  of  the  article  of  confession 
before  quoted,  which  we  are  about  to  defend. 

It  seems  strange  indeed  that  there  ever  should 
have  arisen  any  discussion  on  the  mode  of  bap- 
tism. The  only  authoritative  precept  for  baptism 
is  contained  in  Christ's  commission  to  the  disci- 
ples, "Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost" 
(Matt.  28;  19,  Kevised  Version).  Here  three  things 
are  commanded:  first — going  to  the  nations,  or 
people;  second — making  disciples  of  them;  third 
—  baptizing  them;  but  in  none  of  these  three  in- 
junctions is  there  any  reference  to  the  mode  of 
performing  any  of  them.  What  folly  if  the 
Church  should  ever  begin  to  discuss  the  scrip- 
tural mode  of  going!  Shall  it  be  by  walking,  or 
running,  or  leaping?  Shall  the  preacher  travel 
on  horseback,  or  in  a  vehicle,  or  in  the  cars,  in  a 
boat,  or  in  a  ship  ?    Surely  common  sense  would 


THE    MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  125 

suggest  that  the  important  duty  is  to  "go,"  not 
HOW  to  go.  The  Church  never  troubled  herself 
much  about  the  mode  of  performing  the  second 
injunction  —  discipUng  the  nations — whether  con- 
version to  Christianity,  in  order  to  be  scripturally 
valid,  must  be  efiected  through  the  form  of  teach- 
ing, or  preaching,  or  conversing,  or  singing,  or 
praying;  by  the  use  of  Methodistic  theology, 
Presbyterian  symbol,  Lutheran  doctrine,  or  Bap- 
tist confession.  All  these  diversified  forms  of 
applying  truth  to  men,  are  admitted  to  be  justi- 
fiable modes  and  means  of  accomplishing  one 
and  the  same  essential  thing,  namely,  conversions 
to  Christianity,  or  discipling  of  the  people.  To 
be  a  stickler  for  such  methods  of  evangelization, 
rather  than  for  the  principle  of  it,  would  be 
straining  out  a  gnat,  or  "tithing  mint  and  anise 
and  cummin,"  and  leaving  undone  "  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law." 

There  exists  no  controversy  upon  the  manner 
of  performing  the  essential  duties  involved  in  the 
great  commission;  therefore,  how  strange  that 
the  manner  of  '^baptizing"  should  become  such  a 
bone  of  contention  among  Christian  people.  We 
are  commanded  to  "go,"  but  not  how  to  go;  we 
are  commanded  to  "  disciple  the  nations,"  but  not 
under  what  particular  denominational  banner  we 


126         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

are  to  do  this;  likewise  the  command  is  to  "bap- 
tize," but  not  a  word  is  said  as  to  the  mode  of 
doing  it.  Why,  then,  should  any  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church  become  enthusiastic  over  the 
mode  of  a  duty,  the  least  important  of  all  en- 
joined in  the  great  commission,  and  say  no- 
thing about  the  mode  of  carrying  out  the  other 
two  commands  of  our  Lord,  viz.,  going  and  dis- 
cipling  ?  Consistency  forbids  giving  such  undue 
prominence  to  one  of  the  possible  modes  of  obey- 
ing Christ's  command;  and  reason  revolts  at  the 
idea  of  making  a  non-essential  the  test  of  fitness 
for  participation  in  our  Lord's  Supper,  and  for 
membership  in  any  branch  of  God's  Church. 

Why  is  there  no  discussion  upon  the  modes 
and  ceremonial  particulars  of  obeying  other  ap- 
pointments made  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  ? 
We  are  commanded  to  assemble  ourselves  for 
public  worship,  but  nothing  is  said  about  the 
mode  of  holding  these  meetings,  or  of  the  par- 
ticular rituals  by  which  the  exercises  are  to  be 
regulated.  Christ  commanded  us  to  pray,  but 
said  nothing  as  to  time  —  whether  in  the  morn- 
ing, or  noon,  or  night, —  or  mode — whether  silent 
or  vocal,  —  or  posture  —  whether  it  be  essential  to 
stand,  or  sit,  or  kneel  in  order  to  pray  acceptably. 
He  also  enjoined  upon  us  the  ordinance  of  the 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  127 


Lord's  Supper;  and  here  we  have  abundant  and 
clear  evidence  of  the  mode  and  subsidiary  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  rite  was  originally  ob- 
served, but  no  branch  of  the  Christian  Church 
considers  them  of  any  importance,  at  least  not 
worthy  of  discussion,  or  essential  for  initiation. 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  at  the  original  institution 
of  the  eucharist,  met  in  the  night,  we  meet  in 
the  day.  They  met  on  Thursday,  we  usually  on 
Sunday.  They  met  in  an  upper  room  of  a  private 
dwelling,  we  meet  in  the  public  sanctuary.  They 
used  unleavened  bread,  and  the  pure  juice  of  the 
grape,  we  use  the  leavened  bread,  and  various 
kinds  of  drinks.  They  received  it  in  a  recum- 
bent posture,  we  receive  it  standing,  or  sitting, 
or  kneeling.  Then  only  males  participated,  now 
both  male  and  female.  Who  would  argue  that 
any  or  all  of  these  accidental  circumstances 
should  constitute  the  fundamental  basis  for  the 
observance  of  this  sacrament?  If  the  specific 
form  and  external  modes  have  no  essential  im- 
portance in  any  of  the  commands  of  God,  why 
should  mode  be  considered  so  grave  and  all-im- 
portant a  question  in  this  matter  of  baptism? 

When  it  comes  to  matters  of  secondary  im- 
portance, or  of  doubtful  authenticity,  it  is  always 
best  to  exercise  charity,  and  shun  exclusiveness. 


128         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

Our  article  of  confession  does  not  condemn  any 
mode,  but  approves  all.  If  the  Baptist  says,  "  I 
baptize  by  dipping,"  we  say,  that  is  right.  If  the 
Pedo baptist  says,  "I  baptize  by  sprinkling,"  we 
say,  that  is  right;  but  if  either  says,  "This  is  the 
only  mode,"  we  say  emphatically,  no.  What 
right  has  a  minister,  who  is  called  of  God  to 
preach  and  to  administer  the  ordinances  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  to  refuse  to  baptize  a  Chris- 
tian in  any  way  that  his  conscience  approves? 
for  who  can  tell  whether  the  minister's  commis- 
sion is  to  sprinkle  or  immerse?  but,  without  con- 
troversy, he  is  to  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  On  questionable  subjects,  we  have  no 
right  to  tyrannize  over  other  people's  consciences. 
"Why  is  my  liberty  judged  of  another  man's 
conscience?"  (I.  Cor.  10:  29.) 

Having  indicated  the  meaning  of  the  article  of 
faith,  and  shown  its  reasonableness,  we  are  now 
ready  to  prove  its  scriptural  basis  upon  the  fol- 
lowing great  proposition,  as  the  foundation  of 
our  discussion  on  mode. 

Froposition, 

'  Scripture  nowhere  teaches,  either  by  phrase- 
ology, EXAMPLE,  OR  PRECEPT,  THAT  THERE  IS  ONLY 
ONE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM. 

By  putting  the  proposition  in  a  negative  form, 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  129 

we  indicate  the  line  of  argument  to  be  pursued. 
The  general  presumption  is  in  favor  of  our  propo- 
sition—water baptism,  regardless  of  mode, — 
since,  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  it  always 
has  been,  and  is  to-day,  indiscriminately  practiced 
throughout  Christendom. 

Day,  and  the  most  of  able  rhetoricians,  agree 
that  "the  presumption  is  generally  in  favor  of 
what  already  exists,  and  against  a  change,  whether 
the  question  be  one  of  truth,  of  right,  or  of  ex- 
pediency." ^  The  burden  of  proof,  then,  lies  with 
the  advocates  of  a  unus  modal  baptism.  Such 
vindicators  have  tried  to  prove,  with  all  the  in- 
genuity of  logic  and  exegesis,  that  there  is  only 
one  mode  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  modes  of 
applying  water  in  Christian  baptism.  It  is  our 
purpose  to  disprove  what  they  claim  to  have 
proved;  or  to  re-assert  and  re-fortify  a  general 
presumption  which  they  have  impugned;  and, 
therefore,  we  assume  the  defensive  in  a  negative 
proposition,  as  above  stated. 

In  making  good  this  proposition,  we  will  take 
up  the  main  arguments  and  proof-texts  used  by 

our  opponents  in  proving  modal   baptism,   and 

I ^ . 

1.  Day's  "  Art  of  Discourse,"  p.  158.  Drs.  Carson  and  Broadus,  two  able 
Baptists,  oppose  this  definition  of  a  presumption,  but  in  this  opposition 
they  diflfer  from  nearly  every  other  logician,  and  have  the  weight  of  testi- 
mony  and  argument  against  them. 


130         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

expose  the  fallacies  upon  which  their  conclusions 
rest,  and  the  unsoundness  of  tlieir  doctrinal  posi- 
tion. These  proof  arguments  may  be  classified 
under  three  heads;  first,  verbal;  second,  illus- 
trative; third,  imperative.  The  first  bases  its 
discussion  upon  the  word  baptize;  the  second, 
upon  Bible  examples,  and  the  third,  upon  divine 
commands,  direct  or  indirect,  as  to  mode  of  bap- 
tism. This  threefold  division  covers  the  general 
ground  of  controversy  on  this  subject,  and  will 
constitute  the  three  cardinal  points  of  discussion 
under  our  main  proposition.  This  proposition 
Tvill  now  be  treated  under  the  three  following 
sub-propositions : 

1.  3Iodalism  cannot  be  j^^oved  from  the  word 
baptize. 

2.  Modalism  cannot  be  proved  from  any  script- 
ural example  of  Christian  baptism, 

3.  Modalism  cannot  be  proved  by  any  precept  or 
teaching  of  the  sacred  Scriptures, 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  131 


CHAPTER  II. 

DISCUSSION   OF   THE   WORD   BAPTIZE. 

Suh' Proposition  L 

MODALISM  CANNOT  BE  PROVED  FROM  THE  WORD 
^aK-l^u   (bAPTIZO). 

The  Baptists  are  the  most  radical  medalists; 
and  their  fundamental  argument  for  immersion, 
as  the  mode,  rests  upon  the  meaning  of  the  word 
paTzri^o)  (baiMzo).  The  controversy  turns  mainly 
upon  the  meaning  of  this  word.  Here  lies  the 
crucial  test  of  the  theory;  and  its  meaning  con- 
stitutes the  basis  of  the  Baptist  Bible  Union 
translation  of  the  IN'ew  Testament. 

Rev.  Alexander  Carson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  the  lead- 
ing and  most  learned  on  the  Baptist  side  of  the 
controversy,  says,  repeatedly  and  emphatically, 
*' J/y  jrrojyosition  is  that  it  [bajytizo]  always  signifies 
TO  DIP,  never  expressing  anything  but  mode," 

Rev.  T.  J.  Conant,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  another  prom- 
inent leader  of  the  immersion  theory,  gives  as  its 
ground  meaning,  "To  immerse,  to  submerge,  to 
dip,  to  plunge,  to  imbathe,  to  whelm." 

Rev.  Richard  Fuller,  D.  D.,  says,  "Baptizo  al- 


,/ 


132         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

ways  denotes  a  total  immersion.  .  .  .  The  word, 
I  repeat  it,  means  nothing  but  immersion.  .  .  . 
The  word  baptizo  lias  but  one  meaning,  and 
always  means  immerse."^ 

Dr.  Carson,  in  making  good  his  sweeping  asser- 
tion that  /SaTrr/Cw  (baptizo)  "  always  signifies  to  dip," 
admits  that  he  has  all  the  lexicographers  against 
Mm.  The  authorities  that  oppose  him  from  this 
source  are,  indeed,  overwhelming,  when  we  find 
that  such  learned  lexicographers,  ancient  and 
modern,  as  Hendricus/  Stephanus,  Scapula,  Sto- 
kins,  Passor,  Suidas,  feretschneider,  Schrevelius, 
Ewing,  Parkhurst,  Greenfield,  Robinson,  Ains- 
worth,  Schlensner,  Groves,  Wahl,  Donnegan, 
Dunbar,  Liddell,  Scott,  and  Grove,  give  the  word 
a  wider  and  more  varied  signification  than  that 
of  immersion. 

The  learned  Cox  defies  us  "  to  point  to  a  single 
lexicon  which  does  not  give  dipping,  plunging, 
or  immersing  as  the  unquestionably  settled,  and 
universally  primitive,  meaning  of  the  word." 

To  meet  this  challenge,  we  quote  from  Chapin's 
"Primitive  Church,"  pp.  43,  44;  "The  oldest  na- 
tive Greek  lexicographer  is  Hesychius,  who  lived 
in  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era.     He 

gives  only  the  word  [^dTrru  (bapto),  and  the  only 

♦ . — . 

1.  "  Baptism  and  the  Terms  of  Communion:  An  Argument,"  pp.  19,  45. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  133 

meaning  he  gives  the  word  is  avrXii^  {antleo),  to 
draw,  or  pump,  water." 

IText  in  order  comes  Suidas,  a  native  who  wrote 
in  the  tenth  century.  He  gives  only  the  deriva- 
tive /SaTTTi'Cw  (baptizo),  and  defines  it  by  nXyvo  {pluno), 
to  wash.  "  We  come  down  to  the  present  century, 
at  the  beginning  of  which  we  find  Gases,  a  learned 
Greek,  who,  with  great  labor  and  pains,  compiled 
a  large  and  valuable  lexicon  of  the  ancient  Greek 
language.  His  book,  in  three  volumes  quarto,  is 
a  work  deservedly  held  in  high  estimation  by  all, 
and  is  generally  used  by  native  Greeks.'^  The  fol- 
lowing are  his  definitions  of  BAnTizi2: 

''Bpexcj  (brecho),  to  wet,  moisten,  bedew;  Aoi-w  (louo), 
to  wash,  to  bathe;  avrUu  (antleo),  to  draw,  to  pump 
water'' 

These  lexicographers,  who  were  native  Greeks, 
do  not  recognize  the  idea  of  immersion  in  a  single  one 
of  their  definitions.  We  do  not,  of  course,  adopt 
these  authorities  as  alone  infallible,  but  simply 
wish  to  answer  Mr.  Cox's  defiance,  that  we  can- 
not "  point  to  a  single  lexicon  which  does  not  give 
dipping,  plunging,  or  immersing  as  the  unques- 
tionably settled,  and  universally  primitive,  mean- 
ing of  the  word";  and  to  show  that,  in  classic 
Greek,  the  word  has  been  used  in  various  senses, 
and  does  not  "always  signify  to  dip,"  according 
to  the  dictum  of  Dr.  Carson. 


134        THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

But  the  study  of  Greek  lexicons  can  be  of  little 
use  from  a  philological  point  of  view.  To  deter- 
mine the  particular  meaning  of  a  word,  in  any 
language,  and  in  any  instance,  we  must  go  to  its 
general  literature,  and  ascertain  the  special  sense 
in  which  the  author  used  it,  bearing  in  mind  that 
the  original  meaning  of  a  word  may  be  changed 
in  a  subsequent  age,  since,  in  the  progress  of  soci- 
ety, new  ideas  produce  new  words,  or  new  senses 
of  old  words,  so  that  lexicons  need  frequent  re- 
visions. Dr.  Carson  himself  lays  down  this  law 
of  interpretation :  "  The  meaning  of  a  word  must 
ultimately  be  determined  by  an  actual  inspection 
of  the  passage  in  which  it  occurs,  as  often  as  one 
chooses  to  dispute  the  judgments  of  the  lexicog- 
raphers. The  practice  of  a  language  is  the  House 
of  Lords,  which  is  competent  to  revise  the  decis- 
ions of  all  dictionaries." 

Carson,  in  his  disregard  for  dictionaries,  resorts 
to  classic  literature  for  what  he  considers  an  un- 
answerable argument  to  his  creed,  and  a  proof 
of  his  proposition  that  haptizo  "  always  means  to 
dip."  But  here  he  is  again  opposed  almost  as 
much  as  by  the  lexicographers;  for  an  examina- 
tion of  non-biblical  authors  shows  that  they  used 
the  word  in  as  many  difterent  senses  as  is  indi- 
cated by  the  lexicographers. 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  135 

The  true  position  of  an  unbiased  mind  is,  that 
jSaTTTi^o)  (baptizo),  like  many  other  classic  words, 
admits  of  various  renderings.  Dr.  Carson  says, 
"  Immersion  is  the  only  meaning  of  the  word,  in 
every  instance,  in  the  whole  compass  of  the  lan- 
guage" (i.  €.,  the  Greek  language).  But  let  us 
proceed  now  to  quote  a  number  of  selections 
from  the  Greek  writers,  to  show  that  they  used 
the  word  in  various  senses,  and  then  see  what  be- 
comes of  Dr.  Carson's  extravagant  assertion. 

Section  I. 
Classic  Literature. 

In  the  department  of  classical  literature,  the 
word  baptize  means: 

1.     To  dij). 

In  the  Thirteenth  Idyl  of  Theocritus,  we  have 
an  account  of  the  drowning  of  the  boy  Hylas, 
who  went  to  a  fountain  to  draw  water  for  a  sup- 
per of  Hercules  and  Telamon,  in  which  it  is  said, 
"The  youth  held  the  capacious  urn  over  the 
water,  hasting  to  dip  it,"  etc.  Here  the  word 
used  for  dip  is  (SaTrru  (bapto),  the  radical  word  from 
which  BaiTTi^u)  (baptizo)  is  derived.  The  etymologi- 
cal syllable  of  bapto,  according  to  Prof.  Stuart,  is 
the  triliteral  jSdTv  (bap),  "  whose  leading  and  origi- 
nal  signification   seems    to    have   been   dipping. 


136         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

plunging,"  etc.  !N'umerous  examples  might  be 
adduced  to  show  that  this  root  word  originally 
meant  to  dip,  or  immerse,  and  that  this  was  its 
most  common  and  accepted  meaning.  But  after- 
wards it  received  a  secondary  meaning,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  next  example. 

2.  To  dye,  or  tinge. 

This  meaning  was  naturally  derived  from  (iaKTu 
{bapto),  because  articles  were  generally  dyed  by 
dipping  them  into  a  coloring  element.  Finally, 
the  idea  of  dipping  was  lost,  and  any  process  by 
which  a  substance  was  colored,  was  called  bap- 
tizing it.  Homer,  speaking  of  a  battle  of  frogs 
and  mice  on  the  borders  of  the  lake,  says,  "  The 
lake  was  dyed  with  hlood^^  (eftdTrrero  ai/xan,  ebapteto 
aimati).  What  a  wonderful  monstrosity  of  ideas 
to  give  this  word  the  sense  of  immerse,  and  say 
that  the  lake  was  immersed  in  the  blood  of  a 
mouse!  And  yet  Dr.  Gale,  in  order  to  defend  his 
theory,  made  it  so  appear,  and  for  which  Dr^ 
Carson  criticised  him  severely. 

This  primitive  word,  also,  means  to  partially 
dip,  to  moisten,  to  smear,  to  bedew,  to  imbue,  to 
temper,  to  cleanse,  without  any  regard  to  mode. 

3.  To  wash,  or  he  ivave-beaten, 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Theseus,  quotes  a  verse 
from  the   Sybilline   oracles,  a  poetic   predictiou 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  137 

concerning  the  fortunes  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Athens.     We  give  it  in  the  original:  '"Aam  (iaTzri^Tj 

dvvai  6e  rot  ov  difiig  eanv"     ("  ThoU    majCSt    be    Waslud 

[/5a7rw;7;]  0  bladder,  but  thou  canst  not  go  under," 
i.  e.,  dive).  Here  is  used  the  regular  Kew  Testa- 
ment word  for  baptize;  namely,  /3a7rWC"  (baptizo), 
which  is  an  extension  of  the  word  fidTrra)  (bajyto), 
and  its  meaning  in  each  case  must  be  determined 
by  the  specific  nature  of  the  subject  spoken  of. 
Dr.  Conant,  in  his  work  on  ''Baptizein,''  trans- 
lates the  word  in  the  above  quotation  with  im- 
mersed, and  Dr.  Carson  and  Dr.  A.  Campbell,  with 
dipped;  but  such  a  rendering  will  conflict  with  the 
word  Svvac  (dunai),  dive,  go  under,  which  really  is 
the  word  signifying  to  immerse,  or  to  go  into,  or 
under,  to  enter,  or  to  penetrate,  according  to  the 
best  lexicographers. 

IN'ow,  according  to  these  Baptist  interpreters  of 
language,  we  should  translate,  "  Thou  mayest  be 
dipped  (or  immersed,)  0  bladder,  but  thou  canst 
not  be  dipped  (or  immersed)."  The  word  Svvai 
(dunai),  dive,  determines  the  sense  of  BaTrTii;tj  {bap- 
tizo)  in  this  instance.  Theseus  consulted  the  Del- 
phic oracle  concerning  his  fortune,  and  the  oracle 
compares  his  fate  to  a  bladder  {aoKo^,  aslcos,  which 
really  was  the  ancient  bottle  made  of  the  skin  of 
animals),  which,  though  tossed  and  washed  by  the 


138         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

foaming  sea,  should,  however,  not  be  permitted 
to  submerge  beneath  the  waves.  Hence,  we  are 
justified  in  giving  the  word,  in  this  quotation,  the 
sense  of  loashing  or  tossing  by  ivave-beating, 

4.  To  sink. 

Josephus,  in  narrating  a  hazardous  scene  in  his 
own  life,  says,  "Our  ship  having  been  baptized 
{paTTTLodhToq,  baptisthentos)  in  the  midst  of  the  Adri- 
atic, being  about  six  hundred  in  number,  we  swam 
through  the  whole  night."  The  meaning  here 
is  so  evident  as  to  need  scarcely  any  comment. 
This  baptizing  was  not  a  temporary,  momentary 
dip,  in  the  Baptist  sense  of  baptizing,  but  an  im- 
mersion without  an  emersion.  The  sense  of  sink- 
ing, no  doubt,  is  also  involved  in  the  following 
sentence  from  Dion  Cassius:  "  Ships  which  were 
in  the  Tiber,  and  lying  at  anchor  by  the  city,  and 
at  its  mouth,  were  baptized"  {(^aTTriaeevreq,  baptis- 
thentes);  and  in  that  of  Strabo,  lib.  6,  speaking 
of  a  lake  near  Agrigentum,  says,  "Things  that 
elsewhere  cannot  float,  do  not  sink  here"  (,5a7rrtC- 
EGdai,  baptizesthai). 

5.  To  immerse. 

Strabo,  describing  the  effect  of  a  rapidly-flow- 
ing stream  through  a  very  narrow  channel,  says: 
"To  one  who  throws  down  a  dart  from  above 
into  the  channel,  the  force  of  the  water  resists  so 


THE    MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  139 

much,  that  it  is  hardly  baptized''  {(3aTrTi!;eaeai,  baptiz- 
esthai).  Here  we  have  an  instance  of  immersion, 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  baptism  rite;  namely,  a 
total,  temporary,  momentary  dip. 

6.  To  bury. 

Polybius,  a  Greek  historian,  describing  the  loss 
of  a  body  of  cavalry  by  sinking  in  a  marsh,  says, 
"  Themselves  baptized  by  themselves  (^Avrol  6'  vtt" 
avTuv  (iaTTTcCd/xevoi,  Autoi  d'  up'  autoTi  baptizomenoi), 
and  sinking  in  the  marshes,  were  all  useless,  and 
many  of  them  perished." 

7.  To  immerse  partly. 

Porphyry,  a  Greek  philosopher  and  scholar,  in 
speaking  of  the  Styx,  the  fabulous  river  of  Hades, 
which  the  Brahmans  regarded  as  a  test  of  inno- 
cence or  guilt,  says,  "Being  innocent,  he  gets 
through  without  fear,  having  the  water  to  the 
knees;  but  when  guilty,  proceeding  a  short  dis- 
tance, he  is  baptized  {^airTi^erai,  baptizetat)  up  to 
the  head."  This  evidently  was  a  partial  immer- 
sion in  the  Styx. 

Again,  Lycophron,  in  "  Cassandra,"  ver.  1121, 
says,  "  The  child  shall  plunge  (/3d7n/;ef,  bappsei)  his 
sword  into  the  viper's  bowels."  ^o  child  could 
plunge,  from  end  to  end,  a  sword  into  a  viper's 
bowels.  The  handle,  at  least,  must  be  excepted, 
for  its  bowels  could  not  contain  a  sword.  Bap- 
tizo  here  can  mean  only  a  partial  immersion. 


140         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

8.  To  drown. 

Lucian,  another  Yoltaire  of  Grecian  literature, 
and  a  polished  rhetorician,  makes  Timon  the 
man-hater  to  say,  "  If  the  winter's  torrent  were 
bearing  any  one  past,  and  he,  stretching  out  his 
hands,  were  entreating  to  be  laid  hold  of,  I  woui^l 
push  him  headlong,  baptizing  (jiaizrKovra,  bapti- 
zonta)  him,  so  that  be  may  not  be  able  to  conic 
up  again."  Here  is,  evidently,  an  immersion 
without  an  emersion,  which  must  result  in  death 
by  drowning. 

9.  To  make  drunk. 

Plato,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Greek 
philosophers,  and  most  illustrious  pupil  of  Soc- 
rates, makes  a  character,  in  his  dialogues,  speak  of 
the  effects  of  wine  thus,  "For  I  am  myself  one 
of  those  who  yesterday  were  baptized  ((3e{3aTTTia/xevov, 
bebaptismenon);  that  is,  intoxicated."  Likewise, 
Athanasius,  in  his  "  Philosophical  Banquet,"  says, 
"  You  seem  to  me,  0  guests,  to  be  flooded  with 
vehement  words,  and  to  be  baptized  with  un- 
mixed wine."  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
specific  meaning  of  the  word  as  used  by  Plato. 

10.  To  stupefy. 

Josephus^  in  his  "Antiquities,"  Book  X.,  chap- 
ter 9,  describes  the  assassination  of  Gedaliah  with 
"  Seeing  him  in  this  condition,  and  baptized  (/3£/3a7r- 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  141 

TKTfihov,  bebaptismeno7i)  into  insensibility  and  sleep 
by  drunkenness,  Ishmael,  leaping  up  with  his  ten 
friends,  slays  Gedaliah,  and  those  reclining  with 
him,  at  the  banquet." 

11.  To  overpower,  or  overwhelm. 

Libanius,  in  his  funeral  oration  over  the  death 
of  the  Emperor  Julian,  speaks  of  "  grief  baptizing 
{/SaTTTi^ovaa,  bciptizousa)  the  soul,  and  darkening  the 
judgment."  Also,  from  Achilles  Tatius  we  have 
the  expression,  "  Misfortunes  assailing  baptize  us." 

12.  To  sprinkle. 

Josephus,  in  reference  to  purifying  by  the  ashes 
of  a  heifer,  according  to  Jewish  custom,  says, 
"  Those,  therefore,  defiled  by  a  dead  body,  intro- 
ducing a  little  of  the  ashes  and  hyssop  branch 
into  a  spring,  and  also  baptizing  by  these  ashes 
put  into  spring  water,  they  sprinkled  both  on  the 
third  and  seventh  day." 

We  might  greatly  extend  this  list  of  quotations 
from  profane  writers  in  Greek  literature,  and  show 
the  many  other  senses  in  which  the  word  has  been 
used.  We  might  instance  Plato,  who  speaks  of 
a  youth  baptized  with  sophistry;  or  Diodorus 
Siculus,  speaking  of  baptizing  people  with  tears; 
or  Plutarch,  speaking  of  being  baptized  (op- 
pressed) by  a  debt;  or  Heliod,  baptized  with 
calamity;  or  Marcus  Antonius,  who  says,  "The 


142         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

soul  is  baptized  (tinctured)  by  the  thoughts";  or 
Dionysius  Halicarnassus,  who  applies  it  to  bap- 
tizing (thrusting)  a  spear  between  the  ribs  of  a 
man.  But  enough  has  already  been  brought  for- 
ward to  show  that  the  word  is,  by  no  means, 
limited  to  one,  and  only  one,  meaning,  never  "  ex- 
pressing anything  but  mode";  and  none  but  the 
most  daring  controversialist  will  assert  its  univo- 
cal  application. 

We  willingly  confess  that  dip,  or  immerse,  is 
the  sense  in  which  the  word  is "  mostly  used  in 
classic  Greek,  but  deny  that  this  is  its  only  mean- 
ing. Drs.  Carson,  and  Fuller,  and  Conant,  and 
Campbell,  with  immense  and  unwearied  labor, 
have  ransacked  the  pages  of  Greek  literature, 
and  now  come  back  to  report  that  they  have 
found  immerse  to  be  the  only  meaning  of  (SaTrri^eiv 
ipaiotizein). 

Dr.  Carson  says  it  means  "  to  dip,  and  nothing 
but  dip,  throughout  all  Grecian  literature."  Dr. 
Conant  says,  "  The  word  I3a7zri;;£iv  (bcqytizein),  during 
the  whole  existence  of  the  Greek,  as  a  spoken 
language,  had  a  perfectly  defined  and  unvarying 
import.  In  its  literal  use,  it  meant  to  put  en- 
tirely into,  or  under,  a  liquid  or  other  penetrable 
substance,  generally  water,  so  that  the  object  was 
wholly  covered  by  the  inclosing  element."    Dr. 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  143 

Fuller  says,  "Baptizo  signifies  to  immerse,  and 
has  no  other  meaning."  Dr.  Campbell,  in  his 
great  debate  with  Dr.  Rice,  says,  "Baptizo  can 
never  authorize  or  sanction  any  other  action  than 
dipping,  or  immersing." 

These  four  champions  of  the  immersion  theory 
are  boldly  asserting  much  more  than  they  can 
ever  prove  ;  for  our  above  quotations  show  a 
number  of  different  meanings  in  which  the  word 
actually  has  been  used  by  Greek  writers.  If  only 
one  example  of  baptizein,  in  Greek  authorship, 
could  be  produced  as  an  exception  to  the  mean- 
ing of  immerse,  the  Baptists'  proposition,  that  it 
^'always  means  to  dip,"  in  Greek,  must  fall  to  the 
ground,  and  be  published  as  untrue.  But  we  can 
point  to  a  multitude  of  exceptions  as  witnesses 
against  the  dictaof  these  learned  immersionists. 

When  Baptist  authors  undertake  to  prove  that 
fiaTTTi^etv  ihaptizein)  never  has  any  other  meaning 
than  immerse,  in  the  whole  realm  of  Greek  Hter- 
ature,  they  are  assuming  a  task  as  difficult  and 
presumptuous  as  that  of  proving  that  there  are 
no  worlds  in  God's  universe,  except  those  which 
astronomers  have  already  discovered.  They  try 
to  prove  a  negative  in  an  almost  unlimited  field. 
Have  they  examined  every  sentence,  and  explored 
every  meaning,  in  the  lexicons  and  language  of 


144        THE  DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

all  Grecian  literature?  Until  they  have  done  this, 
the  result  of  their  investigation  is  as  doubtful 
and  untrustworthy  as  those  of  the  atheist,  who, 
after  a  biased  and  partial  research,  declares  ''there 
is  no  GodJ'  That  they  have  overlooked  or  per- 
verted the  meaning  of  SaTTTc^u  in  many  instances, 
we  have  already  shown  by  the  foregoing  exam- 
ples of  the  various  meanings  of  tlie  word. 

Greville  Ewing,  author  of  a  Greek  grammar, 
and  a  Greek  and  English  scripture  lexicon,  says, 
"I  distinctly  deny  that  the  Greeks  have  always 
understood  the  word  baptism  to  signify  dipping. 
.  .  .  We  are  prepared  to  show  that  it  signifies 
the  application  of  water,  or  some  other  liquid,  in 
any  manner,  or  for  any  purpose:  by  efi'usion, 
affusion,  perfusion,  or  infusion;  by  sprinkling, 
daubing,  friction,  or  immersion;  wholly  or  par- 
tially, permanently  or  for  a  moment;  for  puri- 
fying or  defiling,  ornamenting  or  bespattering, 
washing  away  what  was  found  adhering,  or  cov- 
ering with  what  was  not  there;  for  merely  wet- 
ting the  surface  or  causing  the  liquid  to  sink  into 
the  inmost  core."  The  native  Greek  evidently 
knew  nothing  of  the  idea  of  dipping  to  express 
mode  as  essential  to  the  use  of  the  word. 

If  we  wished  to  ascertain  the  most  common 
and  universal  meaning  of  ^aizrii^u  (baptizo),  both  in 


THE  MODE   OP  BAPTISM.  145 

profane  and  sacred  literature,  we  find  it  expressed 
in  "A  Compend  of  Baptism,"  the  recent  work  of 
Dr.  William  Hamilton,  who  follows  the  theory 
of  Dr.  James  W.  Dale  in  his  masterly  and  elabo- 
rate works  on  baptism.  He  says,  p.  34,  "  1.  Bap- 
tidzo,  in   its  primary  sense,  expresses   condition 

CHARACTERIZED  BY  COMPLETE  INTERPOSITION  (posi- 
tion within),  without  the  form  of  the  act  by  which 
such  interposition  may  be  effected.  2.  In  second- 
ary use,  baptidzo  expresses  condition,  the  result 
OF  COMPLETE  INFLUENCE,  effected  by  any  possible 
means,  and  in  any  conceivable  way." 

By  comparing  this  idea  of  baptizo  with  the  for- 
mer examples  quoted  from  Greek  literature,  we 
see  that  this  is  the  most  essential  power  and  use 
of  the  word.  The  word,  no  doubt,  has  the  pri- 
mary meaning  of  the  Hebrew  ;rnT  (aman),  occur- 
ring in  Genesis  15:  6,  ^^  And  he  believed  in  God" 
(n^n^D  |DNrn  veheemin  bayha);  that  is,  "Abraham 
[aman]  stood  firm  in  God."  We  find  that  in  the 
Peshito,  a  Syriac  translation  of  the  Bible,  the  word 
pairri^ELv  is  invariably  translated  by  a  word  which 
corresponds  to  the  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Arabic 
word,  agreeing  in  sense  with  the  Latin  stare  (to 
stand),  or  perstare  (to  stand  firm  —  continuing 
to  stand).  Transfer  this  root  origin  or  general 
meaning  to  the   many  specific  senses  in  which 

10 


146         THE  DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

baptize  is  used,  such  as  dye,  wash,  sink,  bury, 
drown,  intoxicate,  overpower,  and  even  as  ap- 
plied in  Christian  baptism,  as  expressive  of  an 
inner  state  of  grace,  and  we  see  its  general  appli- 
cability and  ground  meaning.  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  (that  is,  standeth  fast  in  the  faith,) 
shall  be  saved,"  outside  of  its  new  meaning,  as 
signified  by  a  Christian  ordinance,  is  its  most 
fundamental  import.  The  word  denotes  "com- 
2)lete  effect,  controlling  influence,  by  whatever  means 
it  may  be  accomplished.  It  may  be  by  immer- 
sion, by  sprinkling,  by  affusion,  by  drinking  to 
excess,  by  drowning,  by  overwhelming  argument, 
by  drugs,  by  gluttony.  It  is  folly  to  contend  for 
one  unvarying  mode,  in  the  face  of  such  varied 
instances."^ 

Hence,  says  Dr.  J.  W.  Dale,  "Whether  I  say, 
^  He  is  baptized  into  (or  under  the  controlling  in- 
fluence of)  sleep,'  or,  'He  stands  firm,  is  estab- 
lished, confirmed  in  sleep,'  I  say  substantially  the 
same  thing.  If  I  say,  'He  is  by  wine  baptized 
into  (under  the  controlling  influence  of)  insensi- 
bility,' or,  'He  stands  firm,  is  established,  con- 
firmed in  insensibility,'  I  say  substantially  the 
same  thing.  If  I  say,  '  He  is  by  a  drug  baptized 
into  (that  is,  under  the  controlling  influence  of,) 

1.  Dr.  William  Hamilton's  "  Compend  of  Baptism,"  p.  45. 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  147 

stupor/  or,  *He  stands  firm,  is  established,  con- 
firmed in  stupor,'  I  say  substantially  the  same 
thing.  If  I  say,  'He  is,  by  immoral  teaching, 
baptized  into  (that  is,  under  the  controlling  influ- 
ence of,)  fornication,*  or, '  He  stands  firm,'  I  change 
the  word,  but  I  do  not  change  the  sentiment." 

!N'ow,  against  such  a  generic  definition  of  bap- 
tize, as  the  result  of  the  latest  definition,  no 
objection  can  reasonably  be  offered,  either  philo- 
logically  or  historically.  If  a  uni vocal  meaning 
must  be  adopted  (which,  necessarily,  we  do  not 
admit  as  essential  to  our  use  of  the  meaning  of 
the  word  in  the  Christian  ordinance),  we  cheer- 
fully accept  this  latter  and  later  definition,  in  lieu 
of  the  much-contested  Baptist  position  that  it 
^'alicay  means  to  dip."  The  distinction  is  all- 
important.  If  the  assertions  of  Drs.  Carson, 
Fuller,  Conant,  and  Campbell,  and  many  others 
who  follow  these  leaders,  can  be  established,  it  is 
proved  beyond  controversy  that,  so  far  as  the 
classic  use  of  the  word  is  concerned,  the  act  of 
baptizing  could  be  performed  in  only  one  mode; 
if  the  philological  definition  of  Drs.  Dale  and 
Hamilton  can  be  verified  by  facts  (which,  we 
think,  has  been  satisfactorily  done)  then  the  act 
or  state  of  baptism  expresses  controlling  influence 
without  any  allusion  to  mode. 


148         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

We  have  now  shown  that  the  Baptists'  defini- 
tion of  (3a7rTLCeiv  (baptizein),  in  classic  literature,  is 
untrue  when  subjected  to  examination  and  actual 
test.     Here  is  their  first  fundamental  error. 

Section  II. 

Transition  from  Secular  to  Sacred. 

But  the  philological  argument,  by  which  Bap- 
tists try  to  prove  immersion  as  the  only  lawful 
mode  of  baptism,  consists  of  another  fundamental 
error,  based  upon  the  first  error  already  exposed. 

Dr.  Carson,  having  proved,  as  he  supposed,  that 
paTTTc^u  always  means  to  immerse,  in  classic  Greek, 
is  sure  that  all  the  New  Testament  loriters  must  use 
the  iDord  in  the  very  same  sense.  Homer,  Pindar, 
Aristotle,  Xenophon,  and  other  secular  Grecian 
writers,  must  decide  the  meaning  of  a  word  which 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John,  and  the  other  in- 
spired writers  used.  The  new  meaning  of  Chris- 
tian ideas,  as  expressed  by  the  evangelists  and 
apostles,  must  be  entirely  governed  by  the  heathen 
vocabulary.  Carson  says,  "  When  I  have  proved 
the  meaning  of  a  word  by  the  authority  of  the 
whole  consent  of  Greek  literature,  I  will  not  sur- 
render it  to  the  supposition  of  the  strict  adherence 
of  the  Jewish  nation  ...  to  the  Mosaic  ritual.  .  .  . 
I  care  not  if  there  had  never  been  a  human  being 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  149 

immersed  in  water  since  tlie  creation  of  the  world, 
if  the  word  denotes  immersion  ...  I  will  contend 
for  it  as  confidently  as  if  all  nations  had  been  in 
the  practice  of  baptizing  (immersing)  each  other. 
...  If  I  have  established  the  acceptation  of  this 
word  by  the  consent  of  use,  even  an  inexplicable 
difficulty  in  this  case  would  not  afiect  the  cer- 
tainty of  my  conclusion."  And  then,  although 
an  "inexplicable  difficulty"  appears  in  Mark  7:  4, 
he  daringly  asserts,  "  Though  it  were  proved  that 
the  *  couches'  could  not  be  immersed,  I  would  not 
yield  an  inch  of  the  ground  I  have  occupied." 

How  shall  we  argue  with  a  man  who  pro- 
nounces his  dogma  infallible  against  an  array  of 
opposing  evidence,  and  even  puts  the  evangelists 
to  the  torture  when  he  stretches  them  upon  the 
rack  of  heathen  classics,  and  makes  them  confess 
to  his  creed  whatever  he  dictates?  "He  is  often 
right,  often  wrong;  but  whether  right  or  wrong, 
he  is  equally  confident";  and  he  "would  send 
the  angel  Gabriel  to  school  if  he  opposed  his 
theory."! 

Dr.  Carson's  linguistic  argument  for  immersion 
is  a  duplex  fallacy  —  a  falsehood  based  upon  a 
falsehood.  Syllogistically  expressed,  it  would  be: 
ISaTTTi^o)  (baptizo)  always  means  dip,  in  classic  liter- 

1.  Dr.  Hamilton. 


150         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

ature;  therefore,  it  always  means  dip  in  scripture 
writings. 

It  lias  often  been  demonstrated  by  Pedobaptist 
writers  that  Dr.  Carson's  first  proposition  is  un- 
true; but  even  if  it  could  be  sustained  by  abun- 
dant evidence,  would  his  conclusion,  in  respect  to 
the  IN'ew  Testament  or  sacred  use  of  the  word,  be 
true? 

Let  us  now  make  this  fact  plain.  Philology 
establishes  the  fact  that,  in  all  languages,  many 
words  lose  their  original  sense,  while  a  change  of 
age,  custom,  and  people  often  gives  new  meanings 
to  old  words.  Several  things  conspire  to  give 
many  ancient  Greek  words  new  and  Christian- 
ized meanings  in  the  New  Testament  times. 

First,  The  New  Testament  Greek  is  almost  a 
distinct  and  independent  dialect.  Every  one  will 
notice  the  difference  between  classic  Greek  and 
Helljnistic  Greek.  Says  Prof.  E.  Robinson :  "  The 
language  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  latter 
Greek  as  spoken  by  foreigners  of  the  Hebrew 
stock,  and  applied  by  them  to  subjects  on  which 
it  had  never  been  employed  by  native  Greeks.  .  . 
It  was,  therefore,  the  spoken  language  of  ordi- 
nary life  which  they  learned,  not  the  classic  style 
of  books  which  have  elsewhere  come  down  to  us. 
...  It  will  be  obvious  that  an  appeal  merely  to 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  151 

classic  Greek  and  its  philology,  will  not  suffice 
for  the  interpreter  of  the  ^N'ew  Testament."  It  is 
sometimes  called  hyhrida  lingua — a  Jewish  Hel- 
linistic  dialect,  combining  Greek  words  with  a 
Hebrew  phraseology.  It  is  often  no  more  than 
Hebrew  thought  in  Greek  clothing.  Hence,  the 
Septuagint  Version,  the  Apocrypha,  and  Philo, 
are  useful  helps  for  the  study  of  sacred  Greek. 
The  study  of  a  good  grammar  of  the  I^ew  Testa- 
ment, or  "Winer's  Idioms  of  the  Language  of  the 
I^ew  Testament,"  as  well  as  a  comparison  of  class- 
ical New  Testament  dictionaries,  will  show  that 
the  language  of  the  Kew  Testament  has  many 
lexical  and  grammatical  deflections  from  the  pure 
Greek  use  and  classical  idioms. 

Second.  The  inspired  writers  used  current 
Greek  words  to  express  ideas  of  which  classic 
heathen  had  no  knowledge.  This  gave  a  pecul- 
iar phraseology  and  turn  of  expression,  caused  by 
the  new  ideas  introduced  by  Christianity.  A.  A. 
Hodge,  in  "  Outlines  of  Theology,"  p.  484,  says, 
"The  New  Testament  writings  are  a  revelation 
of  new  ideas  and  relations,  and  hence  the  words 
and  phrases  through  which  these  new  thoughts 
are  conveyed  must  be  greatly  modified  in  respect 
to  their  former  etymological  sense,  and  heathen 
usage." 


152         THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

If  the  doctrines  of  the  !N"ew  Testament  differ 
from  the  notions  and  philosophies  of  the  heathen; 
if  Christianity  becomes  sui  generis,  then  the  writ- 
ers of  the'  new  doctrine  of  Christ  may  often  de- 
part from  the  strict  usus  loquendi  of  Attic  Greek, 
and  adopt  idioms  conformed  to  the  peculiar  doc- 
trines of  the  Christian  system.  Many  Greek 
words,  therefore,  have  become  entirely  changed 
in  their  meaning  in  transferring  them  from  the 
heathen  Greek  to  the  Christian  Greek,  or  in 
changing  from  the  classical  to  the  sacred  use. 

For  example,  the  classic  word  Seinvov  (deipnon) 
expressed  the  jprincvpal  meal  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans;  it  also  means  a  feast,  or  banquet.  But 
this  same  word,  expressive  of  convivial  feasting, 
was  adopted  by  the  evangelists  to  represent  the 
Lord's  Supper,  an  institution  unknown  to  the 
heathen  classics,  and  who  had  no  word  to  express 
the  sacred  meaning  which  our  Savior  gave  to  it 
when  he  broke  a  piece  of  bread,  and  gave  a  sip 
of  wine.  Again,  the  ]N'ew  Testament  writers  could 
find  no  word  in  the  classic  Greek  to  express  the 
idea  of  Christian  virtue,  for  the  heathen  knew 
nothing  of  such  traits  of  character.  Our  evan- 
gelists did  not  coin  a  new  word,  but  adopted  the 
classic  word  aperii  {arete),  which  is  derived  from 
'Ap7]g  (Mars),  the  god  of  war,  which  meant  to  the 


THE  MODE  OF  BAPTISM.  153 

Greek  mind,  prowess,  courage,  warlike  manhood; 
but  Christian  literature  has  given  this  word  a  new 
signification.  So  with  the  word  A:«P'f  (charis), 
meaning  external  beauty,  outward  personal  at- 
tractions, to  which  a  new  use  is  appropriated  in 
the  'New  Testament,  so  that  it  is  made  to  mean 
Christian  grace,  an  inner  state  of  life.  The  same 
transition  of  meaning  occurred  in  such  words  as 
kKK2,naia  {ekklesia),  church,  ^aicyyeveda  {paliggenesia), 
regeneration,  etc.  Even  in  our  own  language, 
words  are  constantly  undergoing  a  change  of 
meaning;  and  for  this  reason  our  English  version 
of  the  Bible  needs  occasional  revision.  Instance 
such  words  as  "charity,"  "prevent,"  "conversa- 
tion," "deacon,"  "everlasting,"  etc.  To  argue 
that  paTtrKu  {ba:ptizo)  always  means  dip,  in  scripture 
language,  would  be  the  same  as  arguing  that,  be- 
cause iiL^vLcyv  (aionion),  primarily  and  usually  in  the 
Bible,  means  everlasting,  that,  therefore,  it  always 
has  that  meaning  whenever  and  wherever  used. 

Again,  take  the  eighth  verse  of  the  twenty- 
third  chapter  of  Acts:  "For  the  Sadducees  say 
that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel,  nor 
spirit:  but  the  Pharisees  confess  both."  Trans- 
late all  the  Greek  words  in  this  verse  according 
to  the  classic  definitions,  and  it  would  be:  "For 
the  Sadducees  say  there  is  no  rising  up,  neither 


154        THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

messenger,  nor  wind,'^  etc.  If  we  are  to  follow  the 
doctrine  of  Dr.  Carson,  that  the  meaning  of  script- 
ure phraseology  must  be  determined  by  classic 
definitions,  such  must  be  the  rendering  of  the 
above  passage;  and  the  Sadducees  would  be 
merely  represented  as  unbelievers  in  some  of  the 
laws  and  operations  of  the  physical  world  —  not 
believing  in  winds  or  agitated  air,  in  ascending 
balloons  or  rising  smoke,  or  anything  opposing 
the  law  of  gravitation. 

Shall  the  heathen  authors  here  be  appealed  to  for 
an  explanation  of  what  Luke  meant  in  this  verse? 
The  poor  unchristianized  Greeks  knew  nothing 
of  a  bodily  resurrection  in  the  New  Testament 
sense,  of  angels  or  of  spirits.  They  had  no  such 
conceptions,  and  no  words  to  express  such  ideas. 
The  men  who  were  first  to  express  these  new 
ideas,  made  use  of  three  old  classic  words,  avdaraaic 
(anastasis),  dyyeXog  (anggelos),  and  Twevfia  (pneuma), 
the  nearest  by  analogy  to  the  new  revelation,  and 
gave  them  a  grander,  higher,  spiritual  meaning. 

IN'ow  (even  upon  the  supposition  that  haptizo 
had  a  uni vocal  meaning  in  the  classics),  the  same 
reason  exists  for  changing  and  modifying  the  classic 
use  of  SaTTTi^u  [haptizo).  The  signification  of  the 
ordinance  of  baptism,  as  instituted  by  Christ,  was 
something  new.     ^o  word  in  the  Greek  language, 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  ^       155 

or  any  modern  language,  has  an  exact  equivalent. 
The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  adopt  a  classic 
word,  and  let  it  represent  all  that  is  implied  in 
Christian  baptism,  regardless  of  its  original  or 
classical  signification.  Baptizo,  signifying  con- 
trolling influence  by  whatever  method  it  is 
effected,  may  fitly  be  made  to  express  the  pre- 
vailing grace  and  controlling  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  symbolized  by  the  ordinance  of 
Christian  baptism.  The  word  baptize,  in  the 
E'ew  Testament,  does  not  refer  to  the  mode  of 
applying  water,  but  to  the  design  and  import 
of  the  application,  denoting  a  ritual  purifying 
and  referring  to  an  essential  truth  for  its  signifi- 
cation, which  neither  the  words  sprinkle,  pour, 
nor  immerse  can  convey. 

Whatever  idea  the  word  was  used  to  express  in 
the  Attic  Greek,  this,  evidently,  is  the  sense  and 
use  of  the  word  in  the  Kew  Testament  when  used 
in  reference  to  Christian  baptism.  Says  Dr.  Ed- 
win Hall,  in  his  "Law  of  Baptism":  "Will  any 
Baptist  maintain  that  evangelists  and  apostles 
may  not  explain  their  own  meaning  in  just  the 
same  way  that  heathen  Greek  may  explain  them? 
Will  any  Baptist  maintain  that,  where  the  testi- 
mony of  E'ew  Testament  writers  differs  from  that 
of  the  heathen  Greeks,  the  Kew  Testament  witness 


156         THE   DOCTEXNE   OF   CHMSTIAN    BAPTISM. 

is  not  to  be  heard  before  any  heathen  and  before 
all  the  heathen  classics  together?  In  ^ne^  the 
question  here  is,  Is  the  Holy  Ghost  a  competent 
and  credible  witness  as  to  the  sense  in  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  uses  the  word  baptize?" 

What,  now,  is  the  result  of  our  finding  thus 
far? 

1.  That  baptizo  does  not  always  mean  dip,  or 
immerse,  in  classic  Greek. 

2.  That  even  if  it  had  a  strictly  universal 
meaning  in  the  ancient  classics,  it  evidently  would 
have  lost  some  of  its  native  peculiarity,  and  ac- 
quired some  new  shade  of  meaning  in  its  transi- 
tion from  its  secular  to  its  sacred  application. 

3.  That  modalism  is,  therefore,  an  idea  foreign 
to  both  the  old  and  the  new  meaning  of  the  word. 

Section  HI. 
Sacred  Literature. 

If  now  we  turn  from  profane  to  sacred  litera- 
ture, we  find  the  same  diversity  of  meaning  in 
the  use  of  the  Greek  word  liaTzri^u  (baptizo). 

1.  And  first,  we  quote  from  the  New  Testament^ 
omitting  all  reference  to  the  word  as  used  in  the 
ritual  sense  of  Christian  baptism;  for  if  the  word 
used  to  express  this  Christian  ordinance  has  any 
reference  to  mode,  it  surely  cannot  be  determined 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  157 

in  loco,  for  the  particular  examples  of  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Christian  ordinance  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment record,  in  which  the  word  is  used,  afford  no 
data  for  a  philological  argument.  The  question 
of  mode  in  Christian  baptism,  in  another  view  of 
the  subject,  will  be  discussed  exegetically  and 
historically  under  another  sub-proposition.  The 
sacred  literature,  from  which  we  may  learn  some- 
thing concerning  the  meaning  of  the  word,  con- 
sists of  the  writings  of  the  early  Church  fathers, 
the  Apoc^pha,  and  the  sacred  Scriptures,  Old 
and  New  Testament. 

In  the  New  Testament  the  word  means : 

1.     To  wash. 

"And  when  they  come  from  the  market,  except 
they  wash  [/^aTrWawvrai,  bapUsoTitai],  they  eat  not. 
And  many  other  things  there  be,  which  they  have 
received  to  hold,  as  the  washing  [_j3a7rTiafiovg,  baptis- 
mousl  of  cups,  and  pots,  brasen  vessels,  and  of 
tables  [i.  e.,  couches]''  (Mark  7:  4). 

In  Luke  11 :  38,  the  word  /^aTrWCw  (hapiizo)  is  used 
in  the  same  sense  of  washing. 

Here  all  Baptist  writers,  except  Dr.  Campbell, 
agree  that  the  mode  of  immersion  is  expressed. 
But  a  little  candid  reflection  will  make  it  very 
clear  that  the  essential  and  self-evident  meaning 
of  the  word,  in  these  connections,  is  to  wash,  as  a 


158         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

process  of  purification,  without  any  regard  to  the 
manner  of  washing.  The  mode  may  have  been 
by  immersion,  pouring,  or  sprinkling.  The  tra- 
dition of  the  elders  prescribed  these  ablutions  as 
ceremonial  purifications,  which  were  performed 
always  before  eating  and  after  returning  from 
market. 

iN'o  doubt,  especially  in  the  warm  seasons,  these 
Pharisaical  lustrations  from  the  contaminations 
of  the  agora  (market-place)  were  often  performed 
by  bathing,  or  complete  immersions  of  the  whole 
body,  particularly  among  the  wealthier  classes, 
who  had  leisure  and  ample  conveniences  for  such 
complete  washings.  Or,  that  washing  may  some- 
times have  been  in  the  mode  of  sprinkling  or 
spirting,  as  in  Japan,  seems  probable  from  the 
fact  that  some  of  the  ancient  manuscripts,  espe- 
cially the  Codex  Vaticaiius,  have  the  word  rantis- 
ontai  (to  sprinkle),  instead  of  baj)tisontai} 

But  the  weight  of  evidence  seems  to  prepon- 
derate in  favor  of  the  j^ouring  process.  We  know 
that  this  was,  and  still  is,  the  most  common  mode 
of  washing  in  the  Oriental  countries.  Dr.  Schaff, 
in  his  "History  of  the  Apostolic  Church,"  p.  569i, 
says,  "In  support  of  this  [that  baptizo  has  the 
general  sense  to  wash,  to  cleanse],  a  confident 

1.  See  margin  in  Revised  Version. 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  159 

appeal  can  assuredly  be  made  to  several  passages; 
namely,  Luke  11 :  38,  with  Mark  7 :  2,  4,  where 
baptizei7i  is  used  of  the  washing  of  hands,  which 
in  the  East  was  performed  by  pouring.'^  And  Dr. 
Eobinson,  in  his  lexicon  of  the  New  Testament, 
says,  "  The  usual  mode  of  ablution  in  the  East  is 
by  pouring  water  on  the  hands.  This  is  done  by 
a  servant."  Thus  in  II.  Kings  3:  11,  we  read  of 
Elisha,  the  son  of  Shaphat,  pouring  water  on  the 
hands  of  Elijah.  The  custom  of  hand  washing 
among  the  Jews  was  that  of  an  attendant  pouring 
water  out  of  a  jar  or  pitcher  on  the  hands  of  the 
guest  or  master.  A  circumstance  which  corrobo- 
rates this  is  recorded  in  John  2 :  6,  at  the  marriage 
in  Cana,  where  "  there  were  set  there  six  water- 
pots  of  stone,  after  the  manner  of  the  purifying  of 
the  Jews.''  These  vessels,  evidently,  were  there 
for  cleansing  purposes,  "  after  the  manner  of  the 
purifying  of  the  Jews."  Dr.  Robinson,  in  his 
"Biblical  Researches,"  vol.  II.,  p.  451,  says  that 
he  dined  in  a  house  at  Hebron,  where  "  one  went 
and  washed  his  hands  by  having  water  poured 
upon  them  in  an  adjacent  room."  And  Pitts, 
speaking  of  the  Mohammedans,  says,  "The  table 
being  removed  before  they  rise  from  the  ground 
on  which  they  sit,  a  slave  or  servant,  who  stands 
attending  on  them  with  a  cup  of  water,  to  give 


160         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

them  drink,  steps  into  the  middle  with  a  basin  or 
copper  pot  of  water,  something  like  a  coffee-pot, 
and  a  little  soap,  and  lets  the  loater  run  upon  their 
hands,  one  after  another,  in  order  as  they  sit.  .  .  . 
It  is  probable  that  Mohammed  followed,  on  this 
subject,  the  book  of  Leviticus." 

But  when  we  have  testimony  from  history,  both 
sacred  and  profane,  that  the  Orientals  generally 
washed  their  hands  and  bodies  by  pouring  water 
upon  them,  we  have  not  'proved  that  they  always 
cleansed  themselves  in  this  manner.  Three  meth- 
ods of  washing  prevailed  in  the  East, — immersing, 
pouring,  and  spirting, —  and  until  some  one  can 
successfully  prove  that  only  one  was  practiced 
always  and  in  every  case  of  Jewish  purification, 
are  we  justified  in  giving  the  word  any  modal 
signification. 

In  Hebrews  9:  10,  it  is  plainly  asserted  that 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law  stood  in  ''•divers 
washings"  (6ia<i>6poig  paTrTiafioig,  diaphorois  baptisTiiois). 
If  the  word  under  discussion  has  only  one  unva- 
rying meaning, — immerse, — then  how  could  there 
be  any  diversity?  We  cannot  conceive  what 
meaning  to  apply  to  "divers"  here,  if  it  has  not 
reference  to  the  various  kinds  and  modes  of  puri- 
fications. Some  were  performed  by  the  use  of 
blood,  some  by  ashes,  some  by  water;  some  in 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  161 

the  way  of  sprinkling,  some  of  pouring,  and 
others  of  dipping  or  diving.  Here  we  have  a 
diversity  of  baptisms,  but  not  a  diversity  of  im- 
mersions. We  know  that  Dr.  Carson  makes  the 
"  divers  "  baptisms,  or  washings,  refer  only  to  those 
purifications  which,  under  the  law,  were  performed 
by  immersions,  and  the  only  proof  he  has  to  ofi'er 
for  this  belief  is,  that  baptizo  "always  means  to 
immerse."  But  this  is  the  very  assertion  which 
we  deny. 

Dr.  Carson,  unable  to  prove  immersion  in  this 
example  by  fair  argument,  however,  will  not  yield 
the  case.  He  says,  "Many  examples  from  the 
Jews,  and  also  from  the  Greeks,  it  is  said,  prove 
that  the  hands  were  washed  by  pouring  water 
on  them  by  a  servant;  and  I  care  not  that  ten 
thousand  such  examples  were  brought  forward. 
Though  this  might  be  the  usual  mode  of  washing 
the  hands,  it  might  not  be  the  only  mode,  which 
is  abundantly  sufficient  for  my  purpose.  The 
possibility  of  this  is  enough  for  me."  ^  But  a  pos- 
sibility does  not  prove  it  to  be  an  historical  fact; 
and  then  Carson  falls  back  again  on  his  only  ref- 
uge, that  infallible  definition,  "  "We  have  here  the 
authority  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  Jewish  cus- 
tom.    He  uses  the  word  baptizo,  and  that  word 

1.  ••Baptism  in  Its  Mode  and  Subjects,"  p.  67. 
U 


162         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

signifies  to  dip,  and  only  to  dip:'  We  will  let  him 
have  his  hobby;  it  will  do  for  a  pet,  but  not  for 
an  argument. 

All  parties  interested  in  the  modal  controversy 
(Carson  included)  agree  that  baptizo,in  Mark  7:  4 
and  Luke  11:  38,  means  to  tvash;  but  the  discus- 
sion is  over  the  mode  of  washing. 

But  the  Jews  not  only  washed  themselves,  but 
had  also  received  and  held  the  tradition  of  many 
like  things,  such  as  "the  washing  \_;3aTrTiafiovg,  bap- 
tismoiis]  of  cups,  and  pots,  brasen  vessels,  and  of 
couches."  It  is  not  worth  w^hile  to  discuss  the 
mode  of  washing  these  vessels,  for  common  sense 
teaches  us  that  sprinkling,  pouring,  and  dipping 
are  indiscriminately  and  promiscuously  combined 
in  washing  such  small  objects.  But  how  about 
the  "massive  couches"?  The  "couches"  were 
sofas  on  which  the  guests  reclined  during  eating. 
They  were  often  large  enough  for  four  persons  to 
recline  on,  and  the  frames  were,  among  the  opu- 
lent, finely  embellished,  and  the  coverlets  rich  and 
perfumed.  Clement  of  Alexandria  says  that  the 
Jews  "  frequently  washed  (/ScTrriCw,  baptizo),  accord- 
ing to  custom,  the  couches."  It  is  not  at  all  likely 
tliat  these  large  and  'Q.ne  sedans  were  always  im- 
mersed in  water  for  cleansing  purposes,  although 
Dr.  Carson  affirms,  "Whatever  might  have  been 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  163 

their  size,  they  might  easily  be  immersed  in  a 
pond.  But  even  on  the  supposition  that  they 
were  too  large  to  be  immersed  (dipped)  entire,  I 
have  contrived  to  take  them  to  pieces,  and  im- 
merse them  in  parts."  This  manner  of  meeting 
the  difficulty,  only  proves  to  what  unnatural  and 
inconvenient  shifts  a  man  is  driven  when  he  tries 
to  maintain  a  uniform  mode  of  washing.  If 
couches  belonged  to  household  furniture,  then, 
according  to  [NTumbers  19:  18,  they  were  cleansed 
by  sprinkling. 

But  if  any  one  is  still  contending  for  either 
mode  of  washing  these  couches,  let  him  turn  to 
the  Revised  Version,  and  find  that  the  word 
"couches"  is  omitted  from  the  text,  and  hence 
the  controversy  is  cut  short.  Let  us  be  sure  that 
they  loashed  couches  before  we  wonder  hoio  they 
washed  them.  All  learned  and  elaborate  disqui- 
sitions upon  the  mode  of  the  washings  referred  to 
in  Mark  7:  4  and  Luke  11:  38  must  be  fruitless; 
and  the  only  thing  clearly  established  after  years 
of  discussion  is,  that  baptizo  in  these  texts  means 
to  wash. 

Dr.  Edwards'  words  may  fitly  close  these  re- 
marks on  Mark  7:4:  ^'Baptizo  has,  indeed,  been 
used  for  all  the  the  modes  of  washing, —  sprink- 
ling, pouring,  and  immersing, —  whereas  it  does 


164        THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

not  express  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  washing 
only;  and  this  may  be  done  in  either  of  the 
modes;  and,  therefore,  when  we  read  of  any  per- 
son or  thing  being  baptized,  we  cannot  conekide 
from  the  word  itself  whether  it  was  done  by  affu- 
sion, aspersion,  or  immersion." 

2.     To  sanctify  or  inspire. 

"But  ye  shall  be  baptized  \fiaTTTLa-&TiaEa-&E^  baptis- 
thesesthe]  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days 
hence"  (Acts  1:5). 

In  this  passage,  we  have  the  same  word  as  is 
used  in  Mark  7:  4  for  ceremonial  washings;  but 
here  how  different  its  meaning!  how  much  more 
extended  its  application!  how  much  loftier  its 
conception !  how  exceeding  divine  its  benedictions! 
In  the  first  instance,  it  represented  only  an  exter- 
nal, formal  act;  in  this,  it  signifies  an  internal, 
heavenly  inspiration.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost 
the  disciples  were  baptized  "  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  with  fire."  It  was  a  baptism  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  permeating  every  member  of  the  body,  and 
every  faculty  of  the  soul.  It  was  a  divine  endow- 
ment of  gifts  and  graces,  by  which  they  wrought 
signs  and  wonders  in  the  world.  They  were 
newly  sanctified,  and  miraculously  inspired,  for 
the  great  mission  and  ministry  of  their  future  life. 

Drs.  Carson,  Fuller,  and  Conant  have  a  hard 


THE   MODB    OF   BAPTISM.  165 

time  here  in  forcing  the  idea  of  immersion  in  this 
Pentecostal  baptism.  Dr.  Carson  says,  "  The  dis- 
ciples were  immersed  into  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the 
abundance  of  its  gifts;  they  were  literally  cov- 
ered with  the  appearance  of  the  wind  and  fire." 
Did  the  learned  Baptist  Doctor  forget  that  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  wind  or  fire  in  this  outpour- 
ing of  the  Spirit;  but  a  " sound^like  that  of  "the 
rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  and  '•tongues'  like  as  of 
fire"?  "That  this  philosophy  of  a  house  full 
of  wind,"  says  Dr.  Halley,  "  is  not  of  scripture, 
but  of  Dr.  Carson,  I  would  have  skeptics  take 
notice,  lest  they  should  profanely  ask,  Was  it  ever 
empty  of  wind?  or,  If  there  was  more  than  usual, 
what  kept  the  building  together?"  It  is  a  hard 
task  to  adopt  a  creed  as  infallible,  and  then  com- 
pel the  Holy  Ghost  to  say  nothing  that  will  not 
easily  harmonize  with  it.  Baptizo  does  not  "al- 
ways mean  to  dip,"  for  here  it  means  to  sanctify 
or  inspire. 

3.     To  endure  or  suffer. 

"Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  shall 
drink  of,  and  to  be  baptized  [i3aTTTic^pai,  baptisthe- 
nai\  with  the  baptism  [[iaTrrcafid,  baptismd]  that  I 
am  baptized  with  [^aTrr/Co/za^  baptizomai]  ? "  (Matt. 
20:  22.)  See,  also,  parallel  passages  in  Mark  10: 
88  and  Luke  12:  50. 


166         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHBISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

Here  a  reference  to  the  context  will  make  it 
evident  that  our  Savior  is  speaking  of  his  atoning 
sufferings  and  death;  for  he  often  spoke  of  his  suf- 
ferings as  a  "  cup."  "  If  this  cup  may  not  pass 
away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done." 
No  one  can  he  in  doubt  as  to  what  Jesus  meant  by 
drinking  this  cup  ;  nor  by  his  language  to  Peter, 
who  used  his  sword  in  defense  of  his  Master 
against  the  cruel  mob  :  "  The  cup  which  my 
Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?  " 

He  also  represents  his  sorrows  under  the  figure 
of  a  baptism ;  and  the  language  of  the  verse,  di- 
vested of  its  symbolical  dress,  would  be,  "Are  ye 
able  to  endure  the  sufferings  which  I  endure  V^ 
Even  in  the  Baptist's  Bible  Union  translation, 
the  word  baptizo,  in  Mark  10 :  38,  is  rendered  by 
"endure";  thus,  "Ye  shall  indeed  drink  of  the 
cup  that  I  drink,  and  endure  the  immersion 
which  I  endure."  "Why  not  be  consistent,"  says 
Dr.  William  Hamilton,  "  and  say,  '  Immersed  with 
the  immersion  with  which  I  am  immersed'?" 

Dr.  Carson,  in  order  to  make  this  figure  for 
suffering  conform  with  his  theory  of  immersion 
in  water,  quotes  (Psalm  124:  4,  5):  "Then  the 
waters  had  overwhelmed  us,  the  stream  had  gone 
over  our  soul:  then  the  proud  waters  had  gone  over 
our  soul."     But  this  has  no  reference  whatever 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  167 

to  our  Savior's  sufiering,  and  is,  therefore,  not 
pertinent. 

"  That  which  is  immersed  in  a  fluid,"  says  Dr. 
Carson,  in  this  same  connection,  "is  completely 
subjected  to  its  influence."  Exactly  so.  We  have 
before  said  that  the  word  hajptizo  generically  sig- 
nifies complete,  controlling  influence,  but  we  deny 
that  this  pervading  influence  is  always  afiected  by 
the  mode  of  immersion.  Especially  so  in  the  case 
before  us.  Christ,  in  the  days  of  his  passion,  was 
under  the  influence  of  sufiering,  both  of  physical 
and  spiritual  pangs,  from  Monday  until  Friday 
eve.  If  it  is  at  all  proper  to  speak  of  the  mode 
in  which  this  baptism  or  influence  of  sufiering 
was  superinduced,  it  seems  rather  to  have  been 
'poured  upon  him  as  from  a  cup  of  bitterness.  If 
we  think  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  he  endured 
for  sinners,  it  was  "poured  out''  If  we  think  of 
his  "  stripes,"  borne  for  the  salvation  of  the  race, 
they  were  "  laid  on  him:'  If  we  think  of  the 
sweat  and  blood,  it  "dropped''  from  his  pores,  or 
trickled  down  his  hands  and  side. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  mode  (at  most,  a 
very  insignificant  matter),  one  thing  is  clear,  that 
the  ''cup"  and  the  "baptism"  here  represent  the 
entire  catalogue  of  his  sufiering  experience.  Well 
does  Dr.  J.  W.  Dale  say  that  in  it  were  the  "  Incar- 


168         THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

nation,  the  manger,  the  temptations  of  the  wilder- 
ness, the  contradictions  of  sinners,  the  scoff,  the 
derision,  the  blaspheming,  the  buffeting,  the  thorn, 
the  nail,  the  spear,  the  forsaking  by  his  Father  I 
and  he  drank  it  all,  and  was  baptized  into  death, 
'  iJhat  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  per- 
ish, but  have  everlasting  life.'  " 

4.     To  initiate. 

"Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should 
be  ignorant,  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under 
the  cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea;  and 
were  all  baptized  [i/SaTrr/crayro,  ebaptisanto]  unto 
Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea"  (I.  Cor.  10; 
1,  2).  Jamieson,  Fausset,  and  Brown,  in  their 
excellent  commentary,  give  the  following  expla- 
nation, which  is  commonly  received  and  adopted 
by  all  exegetes:  "The  people  were  led  to  believe 
in  Moses  as  God's  servant  by  the  miracle  of  the 
cloud  protecting  them,  and  by  their  being  con- 
ducted under  him  safely  through  the  Hed  Sea; 
therefore,  they  are  said  to  be  '  baptized  into  him.' 
(Exodus  14:  31.)  'Baptized'  is  here  equivalent  to 
initiated^'  Just  as  real  Christian  baptism  inaugu- 
rates, or  initiates,  the  believer  into  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  so  this  miraculous  deliverance  of  the 
Israelites  served  as  an  entrance  into  the  confidence 
of  their  leader,  and  a  renewal  of  their  faith  in  the 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  169 

God  of  Moses.  They  were  all  baptized,  or  initi- 
ated, into  Moses.  "  What  a  grand  baptism !  Jeho- 
vah the  baptizer,  the  millions  of  Israel,  with  their 
infant  children,  the  subjects  baptized,  the  cloud 
and  the  sea  the  agency,  and  Moses  the  receiving 
element!  A  baptism  out  of  infidelity  and  mur- 
muring into  the  belief  and  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
of  his  servant  Moses."  ^ 

Why  stumble  again  at  the  word  baptizo,  and 
quarrel  about  the  mode  of  this  baptism,  when 
tbere  is  not  the  least  ground  for  an  argument 
upon  it?  Carson  calls  this  "a  dry  baptism" — "a 
real  immersion.'^  What  does  he  mean?  Does  he 
mean  that  a  "dry  baptism"  (^.  e.,  immersion)  is 
"a  real  immersion,"  and  that,  therefore,  a  wet 
baptism  is  not  a  real  immersion?  Carson  sees 
that  he  cannot  possibly  get  any  water  here  in 
contact  with  the  baptized  Israelites, —  for  they 
went  over  "on  dry  land," — so  he  conceives  of  a 
"dry  baptism,"  which  he  affirms  to  be  a  " real  im- 
mersion." But  here  the  Doctor  proves  too  much. 
He  proves  that  the  word  baptize  no  more  means 
to  immerse  than  does  sit,  walk,  or  fly,  or  any  other 
verb  in  the  language,  signify  to  immerse;  for  if 
bapHzo  means  to  be  immersed,  enclosed,  sur- 
rounded, entirely  submerged  in  any  substance  or 

1.  Hamilton's  "Compend  of  Baptism,"  p.  78. 


170         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

element,  wet  or  dry^  then  we  cannot  think  of  any 
verb  expressing  an  act,  or  state,  in  which  such  an 
immersion,  wet  or  dry,  is  not  plainly  implied. 
"  The  fish  swims'^  implies  that  the  fish  is  immersed 
in  water — a  wet  baptism.  "The  bird  flies"  im- 
plies that  the  bird  is  immersed  in  air — a  dry  bap- 
tism. "  The  earth-worm  crawls "  implies  that  it 
is  immersed  in  earth — both  a  wet  and  dry  baptism. 
Strictly  speaking,  we  are  all,  and  always,  im- 
mersed, and  even  he  who  is  placed  in  a  vacuum, 
is  entirely  enclosed  within  a  receiver.  If  baptizo 
can  be  made  to  mean  a  dry  or  wet  immersion,  so, 
also,  can  any  other  verb  in  the  language.  Prov- 
ing too  much,  we  prove  nothing.  Let  us  not 
depart  from  the  plain  and  essential  meaning  of  a 
word,  which  is  made  evident  by  the  sense  in  which 
the  writer  used  it,  and  force  it  into  an  absurd  sig- 
nification in  every  case,  for  the  sake  of  casting  it 
into  the  stifi*  mold  of  a  univocal  definition. 

2.  "With  these  few  examples,  sufiicient,  how- 
ever, to  illustrate  that  the  word  is  not  used  in  a 
uniform  sense  in  the  "New  Testament,  we  proceed 
to  produce  illustrations  of  three  difierent  mean- 
ings of  the  word  from  the  Old  Testament. 

We,  of  course,  quote  from  the  Septuagint  Ver- 
sion, which  is  very  closely  allied  to  the  N'ew 
Testament  Greek,  and  which  was  the  language 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  171 

extensively  used  in  Palestine  in  the  days  of  Christ 
and  his  apostles.  This  version  of  the  seventy  was 
made  during  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus, 
a  few  centuries  before  Christ;  and  most  of  the 
quotations  in  the  New  Testament  were  made 
from  this  version. 

The  first  example  is  from  the  primitive  /5a7rr6> 
(bapto),  which  means: 

1.  To  ivet  or  moisten. 

"  His  body  was  wet  [e/3%,  ebaphe]  with  the  dew 
of  heaven"  (Dan.  4:  33). 

The  original  Chaldee  word,  which  corresponds 
to  the  /3a7rro  {bupto)  of  the  Septuagint,  means  to 
wet,  to  moisten,  to  imbue.  Nebuchadnezzar,  driven 
out  into  the  fields,  and  under  the  open  sky,  was 
exposed  to  the  distilling  mists  and  rain  of  the 
clouds.  The  meaning  here  is  too  obvious  to  re- 
quire any  further  comment. 

2.  To  dip,  to  plunge,  to  immerse. 

"Then  went  he  [Naaman]  down,  and  dipped 
himself  [e/JaTrWaaro,  ebaptisato]  seven  times  in  Jor- 
dan" (II.  Kings  5:  14). 

That  the  word  baptizo  is  here  correctly  trans- 
lated by  "  dipped,"  in  the  authorized  version,  is 
based  upon  the  best  kind  of  evidence.  If  we  had 
here  nothing  but  the  word  baptizo,  which  the  sev- 
enty used  to  express  the  washing  of  the  Syrian 


172  THE    DOCTRINE    OP    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

nobleman,  we  might  be  in  great  doubt  as  to  the 
mode  of  his  washing;  for  baptizo,  j)bilologically 
considered,  may  or  may  not  have  reference  to 
temporary  immersion,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  original  Hebrew  word 
b3£D"^T  from  hniD  {tabal),  which  these  seventy-two 
elders  of  the  Israelitish  tribes  translated  with 
(^aiTTi^o)  (baptizo).  A  sufficient  proof  in  favor  of 
making  this  baptism  a  clear  case  of  immersion 
is  that  S?o  (tabal),  the  w^ord  used  in  this  verse,  is 
a  modal  verb,  and  means  to  dip,  or  immerse.^  If 
the  writer  of  this  history  wished  to  express  the 
specific  mode  of  immersion,  he  surely  could  not 
have  done  it  in  any  better  way,  or  by  choosing 
any  other  Hebrew  ^vord  in  its  place;  for,  while 
there  is  another  word,  ;?3£p  ( taba)  which  means  to 
immerse,  it  also  means  to  seal,  to  impress,  etc., 
and  such  a  word  would  be  almost  as  equivocal  as 
baptizo ;  but  *73E)  (tabal)  is  uni vocal. 

The  Hebrew  w^ord  for  washing,  which  is  used 
irrespective  of  mode  is  VX^I  (raha.tz).  Examples  of 
this  use  of  the  word  are  found  in  Gen.  18:  4;  43; 
31;  Exodus  29:  17;  Psa.  51:  7;  73;  13;  Isa.  1;  16; 
4:  4;  Jeremiah  4:  14;  2:  22,  etc.;  but  neither 
rahatz  nor  taba  is  used,  but  tabal,  and,  therefore, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  mode  of  wash- 
ing in  this  instance. 

1.    Comp.  Hamilton,  p.  68,  for  an  exception. 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  173 

Here  anti-Baptists  are  straining  a  point  wlien 
they  undertake  to  prove  that  iNaaman  was  not 
immersed.  Dr.  William  Hamilton's  argument  is 
based  upon  the  Septuagint  Version.  He  says,  "  In 
the  passage  respecting  J^aaman,  the  word  baptizo 
is  used,  and  not  bapto.  What  is  the  reason  of  the 
difierence?  The  seventy  must  have  had  a  reason 
for  using  a  diflerent  word,  baptizo,  instead  of  bapto, 
which  is  employed  to  translate  tabal  in  other 
places.*'  The  only  plausible  reason  is,  that  the 
translators  of  tabal,  no  doubt,  knew  that  baptizo, 
as  well  as  its  primitive  bapto,  is  used  to  signify 
immersion;  and  so  far  as  the  philological  use  of 
the  word  is  concerned,  it  is  immaterial  which 
of  the  two  words  they  used.  If  tabal  in  the  Old 
Testament  always  means  to  immerse,  and  if  bap- 
tizo, which  is  used  to  translate  it  in  the  Septuagint, 
often  means  the  same,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
immerse  is  the  idea  here  intended  to  be  conveyed. 

Other  Pedobaptists  argue  that  Elisha  used  the 
word  Aowai  (lousai),  "go  and  wash,"  in  the  preced- 
ing verse,  when  his  command  was  given  to  Naa- 
man.  If  baptizo,  in  verse  fourteen,  means  to 
immerse,  then  ]SI  aaman  did  not  "  baptize  himself 
according  to  the  saying  of  the  man  of  God,"  for  be 
was  not  to  immerse,  but  to  ivash.  But  we  have 
before  shown  that  /mvu  (louo)  and  ySaTrr/Cw  (haptizo) 


174         THE   DPCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

are  often  equivalent  in  meaning,  both  signifying 
to  wash,  without  designating  anj  mode  of  wash- 
ing. When,  therefore,  Elisha  commanded  Naaman 
to  wash,  he  did  not  intimate  whether  he  should 
do  it  by  sprinkling,  pouring,  or  dipping;  and 
when  E'aaman  chose  to  wash  by  plunging  or 
dipping  seven  times  in  Jordan,  he  did  nothing 
inconsistent  with  "the  saying  of  the  man  of 
God." 

Let  the  opposers  of  immersion  be  careful,  lest 
they  fall  into  the  same  error  of  which  they  accuse 
their  Baptist  brethren;  namely,  that  of  exclusive 
definition.  It  is  as  difficult  to  prove  that  haptizo 
never  means  immerse  as  to  prove  that  it  always 
means  immerse.  In  avoiding  one  extreme,  we 
may  veer  into  error  in  an  opposite  direction.  Our 
object  in  this  discussion  is  to  show  the  golden 
mean,  in  a  common  sense  view  of  the  word 
ha'ptizo,  neither  limiting  it  to  only  one  meaning, 
nor  ignoring  any  of  its  plain  and  self-evident 
definitions. 

3.     To  terrify. 

"My  heart  wanders,  iniquity  terrifies  [panri^ei^ 
bajytizei]  me"  (Isa.  21:  4). 

This  passage,  evidently,  is  a  prophecy  and  vis- 
ion of  the  scene  described  by  Daniel  5 :  1-6.  The 
prophet  supposes  himself  one  of  the  banqueters 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  175 

at  Belsliazzar's  feast,  on  the  night  when  Babylon 
was  taken  by  surprise.  Fearfulness,  caused  by 
iniquity  (M^n;?,?  bathane,  from  n;;2  bayath),  suddenly 
came  upon  him  terrifying  him.  The  vengeance 
of  God  overwhelmed  him.  All  the  fright,  trem- 
bling, and  surprise  are  signified  by  the  one  word 
baptizei.  ^ 

In  examining  the  character  of  the  Babylonian 
destruction,  we  cannot  see  how  baptizo  here  can 
have  any  reference  to  any  mode  used  in  the  ordi- 
nance of  baptism  by  water.  Terror  is  a  thing 
that  shocks  the  mind,  and  the  idea  of  wetting  the 
body  by  sprinkling,  pouring,  or  dipping,  is  dis- 
tinctly foreign  to  it. 

"We  have  now  discovered  seven  different  senses 
in  which  the  word  baptize  is  used  in  the  Sacred 
Scriptures;  and  such  is  its  varied  and  specific 
meaning  in  each  passage  quoted,  that  a  univocal 
meaning  could  not  be  applied;  nor  could  the 
various  different  meanings  assigned  in  their  re- 
spective connections  be  used  interchangeably, 
without  utterly  destroying  the  sense  of  the  differ- 
ent passages.  We  have  already  seen  that  modal- 
ism  in  respect  to  a  uniform  meaning  of  the  word, 
cannot  be  established  from  its  use  in  the  classics? 
so  no  more  can  it  be  established  philologically 
from  its  use  in  the  canon  of  Holy  Scripture. 


176         THE  DOCTRINE   OF  CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

3.  Two  baptisms  of  ivashings  occur  in  the 
Apocrypha — the  one  in  Judith  12:  7:  "She  went 
out  by  night  into  the  valley  of  Bethulia,  and 
washed  herself  [e/JaTrrt'Cero,  ebaptizeto]  at  the  foun- 
tain of  water  in  the  camp";  the  other  is  from 
Ecclesiasticus  34 :  25 :  "  He  who  is  washed  [/JaTrr^c- 
Sfzevog,  bapHzomenos]  from  a  corpse,  if  he  touch  it 
again*  what  availeth  his  washing?" 

In  the  first  instance,  it  is  not  probable  that  a 
chaste  and  beautiful  woman,  like  Judith,  would 
go  out  in  an  open  and  public  spring  in  the  camp, 
among  a  large  army  of  two  hundred  .thousand 
men,  at  the  evening  twilight,  and  immodestly  ex- 
pose herself  by  immersing  in  their  presence. 

As  to  the  mode  of  ceremonial  purification  in 
the  second  passage,  an  explanation  may  be  found 
in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  ^N'umbers,  where  the 
process  was  that  of  sprinkling  ashes  mixed  with 
water  upon  the  unclean  person,  and  to  which  Paul 
has  reference  in  Hebrews  9:  13,  that  "the  ashes 
of  an  heifer,  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to 
the  purifying  of  the  flesh." 

Dr.  Carson  translates  paTZTii;^  (baptizo),  in  Eccle- 
siasticus 34:  25,  with  "dippeth,"  and  Dr.  Conant 
translates  Xovrpdv  (loutron)  by  "bathing,"  as  synony- 
mous with  immersing.  But  this  was  not  the 
mode   of    washing  as   represented   by  Christian 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  177 

antiquity.  Dr.  'William  Smith  says,  "On  ancient 
vases,  on  which  persons  are  represented  bathing, 
we  never  find  anything  corresponding  to  a  mod- 
ern bath,  in  which  persons  can  stand  or  sit;  but 
there  is  always  a  round  or  oval  basin  resting  on  a 
stand,  by  the  side  of  which  those  who  are  bathing 
are  represented  standing  undressed  and  washing 
themselves." 

A  practice  similar  to  these  Christian  lustrations 
still  prevails  in  India,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  Lowenthal,  the  missionary,  who  says,  "The 
Hindoos  use  a  small  urn  called  a  lota,  with  which 
they  bathe  at  the  river,  pouring  water  over  the 
body." 

As  we  have  already  referred  to  a  baptism  by 
washing,  in  our  examination  of  the  i^ew  Testa- 
ment baptizo,  we  will  not  further  discuss  the  mode 
in  the  present  instance,  but  re-assert  that  baptizo, 
in  the  Apocrypha,  as  well  as  in  the  Old  and  E"ew 
Testaments,  and  in  classic  Greek,  often  means  to 
wash,  without  any  expressed  mode  of  washing. 

4.  We  now  turn  our  attention  to  patristic  lit- 
erature, or  the  literature  of  the  Church  fathers, 
whose  writings  are  very  abundant,  and  whose 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language  can- 
not be  questioned;  for  most  of  them  thought  and 
wrote  in  that  language.     Especially  were  they 

12 


178         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

familiar  with  the  new  and  Christianized  meanings 
which  many  Greek  words  had  acquired  in  the 
days  of  Christ,  by  the  acquisition  of  new  doctri- 
nal ideas  peculiar  to  Christianity. 

The  sense  which  they  gave  to  the  word  baptizein 
must,  therefore,  be  the  best  philological  authority 
which  we  have  upon  the  subject.  Their  doctrine 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  ordinance  of  Chris- 
tian baptism  cannot  always  be  trusted.  Many  of 
them  believed  in  baptismal  regeneration.  Their 
fanciful  notions  attributed  to  the  water  some 
saving  virtue,  by  supposing  that  when  the  Spirit 
"brooded  over  the  face  of  the  waters,"  in  the 
days  of  creation,  it  baptized  them  into  a  sort  of 
sanctity,  so  that  water  applied  to  a  person  in 
the  name  of  the  Spirit,  would  bestow  upon  the 
recipient  a  certain  sanctifying  and  saving  influ- 
ence. But  we  are  not  accepting  their  doctrine,  but 
their  use  and  understanding  of  the  word  jSaTtri^eiv 
(baptizein). 

It  is  certain  that  the  word  with  the  fathers  was 
modified  from  the  classic  Greek,  and  had  received 
some  sacred  meaning,  for  they  had  learned  to  use 
it  in  a  religious  sense  as  attached  to  it  in  the  Chris- 
tian era. 

It  is  often  difficult  to  give  a  specific  word  a 
meaning  that  will  exactly  express  the  sense  in 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  179 

which  the  fathers  used  it;  but  one  thing  seems 
clear,  that  whenever  and  wherever  they  employed 
it,  it  will  always  sustain  the  general  sense  given  it 
by  Dr.  Dale ;  namely,  changed  condition^  or  control- 
ling  influence.  Though  generally  used  in  reference 
to  the  ordinance  of  Christian  baptism,  it  very 
seldom  can  be  made  to  point  to  any  mode,  either 
expressed  or  implied. 

Dr.  Carson  boldly  says  that  "there  is  not  an 
instance  in  all  the  fathers  in  which  baptizOj  or  any 
of  its  derivatives,  are  used  except  to  signify  im- 
merse."   Let  us  see.     Our  first  example  is  from — 

Basil.  In  commenting  on  Psalm  29 :  10, — "  The 
Lord  sitteth  upon  the  flood," — he  says,  "A  flood 
is  an  overflowing  of  water,  covering  all  that  is 
under  it,  and  purifying  every  defilement.  There- 
fore, he  calls  the  grace  of  baptism  a  flood."  Basil 
here  uses  the  word  in  the  sense  of  a  covering  and 
purifying.  Here,  then,  may  be  a  reference  to  im- 
mersion, and  in  favor  of  Carson's  theory. 

Cyril  of  Alexandria.  He  says,  "  We  have  been 
baptized,  not  with  mere  water,  nor  yet  with  the 
ashes  of  a  heifer,  but  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
fire."  A  faint  allusion  to  the  sprinkling  of  the 
ashes  of  a  heifer,  and  therefore  of  no  special  serv- 
ice to  the  Carsonian  doctrine. 

Jerome.     He   also   has   in   mind  the   mode  of 


180         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

sprinkling,  when  in  his  interpretation  of  Ezekiel 
36 :  25,  26,  he  says,  "  Upon  the  believing  and  those 
converted  will  I  pour  the  clean  water  of  saving 
baptism;  and  I  will  cleanse  them  from  their 
abominations,  and  from  all  their  errors.  ...  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  a  new  heart  and  right  spirit 
may  be  given  by  the  pouring  and  sprinkling  of 
water."  But  in  the  following  examples,  mode 
is  not  at  all  connected  in  the  use  of  the  word 
baptize. 

Ambrose.  "Whence  is  baptism,  except  from 
the  cross  of  Christ,  from  the  death  of  Christ?" 
How  can  Dr.  Carson  make  this  baptism  "  signify 
immersion"? 

Justin  Martyr.  "What,  then,  is  the  record  of 
circumcision  to  me,  having  received  testimony 
from  God?  What  need  is  there  of  that  baptism 
to  one  baptized  by  the  Holy  Ghost?"  If  Martyr 
calls  circumcision  a  baptism,  how  can  Dr.  Carson 
call  it  an  immersion? 

Tertullian.  Speaking  of  the  water  and  the 
blood,  he  says,  "These  two  baptisms  he  poured 
forth  from  the  wound  in  his  pierced  side."  Dr. 
Carson  will  yet  have  hard  work  to  defend  his 
theory,  that  the  "fathers  always  used  the  word 
for  immersion." 

Origen.    In  his  seventh  homily  on  the  sixth  of 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  181 

Judges,  he  says,  *'  The  outpouring  of  his  [Christ's] 
blood  is  denominated  a  baptism";  and  in  his 
notes  on  Matthew  20:  21,  22,  he  says,  '^Martyrdom 
is  rightfully  called  a  baptism/'  Worse  and  worse 
for  Carson. 

Athanasius.  "John  was  baptized  by  placing 
Ms  hand  on  the  divine  head  of  his  Master."  It 
is  time  that  the  champion  of  Tubbermore  surren- 
der his  position. 

Eusehius.  Speaking  of  a  female  catechumen, 
who  was  burned  before  receiving  water  baptism, 
he  says,  "  She  received  the  baptism  which  is  byjire, 
and  departed  from  this  life."  Here  is  some  com- 
fort for  the  staunch  immersionist,  provided  the 
victim  was  completely  enveloped  in  the  flames. 
But  how  about  — 

Didymus  of  Alexandria,  In  his  comments  on 
I.  Cor.  10:  1,  2,  he  makes  Moses  a  type  of  Christ, 
when  he  says,  "  The  waters  securing  safety  for 
the  people,  signify  the  baptism."  Here  Didymus 
affirms  that  safety  signifies  baptism,  Carsonism 
must  be  a  failure. 

Clemens  Alexandrius.  Speaking  of  a  backslider, 
whom  John  was  the  means  of  reclaiming,  he  says, 
"He  was  baptized  a  second  time  with  tears."  The 
baptism  of  tears  and  of  blood  seems  to  have  been 
a  favorite  phraseology  with  the  fathers.     What  a 


182         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

willful  perversion  of  their  ideas  is  the  modern 
Baptist  interpretation,  which  would  make  it  ap- 
pear that  they  were  immersed  with  tears  and 
blood! 

Dr.  Carson,  in  tr^'ing  to  set  up  an  absolute 
monarchy  of  mode  as  against  a  republican  lib- 
erty of  conscience,  has  inaugurated  a  crusade 
upon  the  Pedobaptists,  under  the  banner,  "Bap- 

TIZO   ALWAYS,  EVERYWHERE,  AND  EVERY   TIME   MEANS 

TO  DIP."  At  first,  ^e  seemed  destined  to  conquer 
and  to  usurp  everything  before  him,  and  his 
boasted  followers  claimed  for  him  universal  do- 
minion; but  the  crowned  sovereign  is  beginning 
to  get  into  close  quarters.  Being  routed  out  of 
the  citadel  of  classic  literature,  he  seeks  refuge 
among  the  inspired  men  of  the  Bible,  who,  learn- 
ing the  weakness  of  his  cause,  desert  him;  when 
lo!  he  flees  to  the  Apocryphal  regions  for  help. 
'Now  driven  from  place  to  place,  in  order  to  save 
his  life,  he  is  finally  pursued  into  patristic  lands, 
the  last  hiding-place,  where  he  is  completely  sur- 
rounded, and  at  last  captured,  after  waging  a  long 
'  warfare  in  a  hopeless  cause. 

5.  An  additional  evidence  that  haptizo  is  not 
limited  in  reference  to  one  mode,  is  found  in  the 
difierent  versions  of  the  Bible. 

Martin  Luther  translates  the  word  by  taufen, 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  183 

vt^liicli,  according  to  E.  A.  Weber's  English  ana 
German  dictionary,  means  to  baptize,  to  christen. 
He  does  not  use  eintauchen,  versunken,  vertiefen, — 
ivords  equivalent  to  our  English  word  immerse. 

The  Sja-iac  Version  translates  baptizo  with  the 
word  which  signifies  "to  confirm,  to  establish." 
The  Vulgate,  like  the  English  Version,  transfers 
the  word  instead  of  translating  it,  thus  leaving 
each  one  to  judge  for  himself  as  to  the  various 
modal  meanings  of  which  the  word  admits.  In 
the  Dutch,  Danish,  and  Swedish  versions,  the 
word  is  translated  with  a  phraseology  that  does 
not  indicate  mode.  Dr.  Henderson,  who  was 
fully  acquainted  with  the  languages  of  l!Torthern 
Europe,  says,  "  That  neither  Luther,  nor  the  au- 
thors of  the  Dutch,  Danish,  and  Swedish  versions 
had  any  intention  of  conveying  the  idea  of  im- 
mersion as  implied  in  baptize,  is  obvious  from  the 
preposition  which  they  have  used  with  the  verb. 
Thus  we  read  in  German,  mit  loasser  taufen;  in 
Danish,  dobe  mit  vand;  in  Swedish,  dopa  med  vatu; 
in  Dutch,  dooperi  met  I'casscrJ' 

6.  There  is  an  abundance  of  eminent  authority 
against  a  univocal  definition  of  baptizo,  a  few  of 
which  we  here  produce. 

Dr.  Thomas  Scott,  the  eminent  commentator, 
says,  "  Some,  indeed,  contend  zealously  that  bap- 


184        THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

tism  always  signifies  immersion;  but  the  use  of 
the  words  baptize  and  baptism,  in  the  IN'ew  Testa- 
ment, cannot  accord  with  this  exclusive  interpre- 
tation." 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  an  eminent  linguist  and  the- 
ologian, says,  in  his  comment  on  Matt.  3:6,  "  In 
what  form  baptism  was  originally  administered, 
has  been  deemed  a  subject  worthy  of  serious  dis- 
pute. Were  the  people  dipped  or  sprinkled?  for 
it  is  certain  bapto  and  baptizo  mean  both." 

Johann  Benedikt  Carpzov,  in  his  Isagoge,  page 
1085,  says,  "Baptism  is  a  Greek  word,  and  in  it- 
self means  a  washing  in  whatever  way  performed, 
whether  by  immersion  in  water,  or  by  aspersion." 

Dr.  Owen,  a  great  and  learned  man,  says,  "!tTo 
one  place  can  be  given  in  the  Scriptui'es  wherein 
baptizo  doth  necessarily  signify  either  to  dip  or 
plunge."* 

Dr.  John  Eobinson,  of  Cambridge,  says,  "  Th© 
English  translators  did  not  translate  the  word 
baptize,  and  they  acted  wisely,  for  there  is  no 
word  in  the  English  language  which  is  an  exact 
counterpart  of  the  Greek  word  as  the  'New  Tes- 
tament uses  it,  containing  the  precise  ideas  of  the 
evangelists,  neither  less  nor  more." 

Dr.  Tracy,  in  "  Encyclopedia — Religious  Knowl- 

1.  Works,  Vol.  XXI.,  p.  557. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  185 

edge,"  p.  23,  says,  ''  The  word  baptism  is  derived 
from  the  Greek  baptisma  and  baptizo,  and  more 
remotely  from  bapto,  and  properly  signifies  a  loash- 
ing,  whether  the  substance  washed  be  partially  or 
wholly  immersed  in  the  liquid,  or  the  liquid  be 
applied  to  the  substance  by  running,  pouring, 
rubbing,  dropping,  or  sprinkling." 

Timothy  Dwight,  a  distinguished  theologian  of 
this  country,  says,  "  I  have  examined  almost  one 
hundred  instances  in  which  the  word  baptizo 
and  its  derivatives  are  used  in  the  l^ew  Testa- 
ment, and  four  in  the  Septuagint,  these,  so  far  as 
I  have  observed,  being  all  the  instances  contained 
in  both.  By  this  examination,  it  is  to  my  appre- 
hension evident  that  the  following  things  are 
true:  That  the  primary  meaning  of  these  terms 
is  cleansing  —  the  effect,  not  the  mode  of  washing; 
and  that  these  words,  although  often  capable  of 
denoting  any  mode  of  washing,  whether  by  afiii- 
s^n,  sprinkling,  or  immersion  (since  cleansing 
was  familiarly  accomplished  by  the  Jews  in  all 
these  ways),  yet  in  many  instances  cannot,  with- 
out obvious  impropriety,  be  made  to  signify  it 
at  all." 

John  Dick,  in  "Lectures  on  Theology,"  vol.  IL, 
p.  377,  says,  "  Nothing  certain  as  to  mode  can  be 
learned  from  the  original  term  baptizo." 


186         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

George  Hill,  in  his  ''Divinity,"  p.  470,  says, 
"  Both  the  sprinkling  and  the  immersion  are  im- 
plied in  the  word  baptizo," 

Richard  Watson,  in  "  Institutes,"  vol.  II.,  p.  650, 
says,  "  The  word  itself,  as  has  often  been  shown, 
proves  nothing.  The  verb,  with  its  derivatives, 
signifies  to  dip  the  hand  into  a  dish  ...  to  wet 
the  body  with  dew  ...  to  paint,  or  smear  the 
face  with  color;  to  stain  the  hand  by  pressing  a 
substance;  to  be  overwhelmed  in  the  waters  as 
a  sunken  ship;  to  be  drowned  by  falling  into 
water;  to  sink,  in  the  neuter  sense;  to  immerse 
totally;  to  plunge  up  to  the  neck;  to  be  immersed 
up  to  the  middle;  to  be  drunken  with  wine;  to 
be  dyed,  tinged,  and  imbued;  to  wash  by  effusion 
of  water;  to  pour  upon  the  hands,  or  any  other 
part  of  the  body;  to  sprinkle.  A  word,  then,  of 
such  large  application  affords  as  good  proof  for 
sprinkling,  or  partial  dipping,  or  washing  with 
water,  as  for  immersion  in  it." 

Charles  Hodge,  in  "  Systematic  Theology,"  vol. 
III.,  pp.  526,  527,  says,  "In  the  classics,  in  the 
Septuagint  and  Apocryphal  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament,  in  the  'New  Testament,  and  in  the 
writings  of  the  Greek  fathers,  the  words  ^dTZTu 
(bapto),  0airTiCo  (bapUzo),  and  their  cognates  are  used 
with  such  latitude  of  meaning,  as  to  prove  the 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  187 

assertion  that  the  command  to  baptize  is  a  com- 
mand to  immerse,  to  be  utterly  unauthorized  and 
unreasonable." 

A.  A.  Hodge,  in  "  Outlines  of  Theology,"  p.  484, 
says,  "The  word  (SarciCo  (bajytizo),  in  form,  though 
not  in  usage,  the  frequentative  of /3a7rrcj  (bapto),  oc- 
curs seventy-six  times  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
is  the  word  used  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  convey  the 
command  to  baptize.  Its  classic  meaning  was 
dip,  submerge,  sink.  Besides  these,  we  have  the 
nouns  of  the  same  root  and  usage,  (^anrLGiMa  (bap- 
tisma)  occurring  twenty-two  times,  translated 
baptism,  and  ^aTZTLafidq  occurring  four  times,  trans- 
lated baptism  (Heb.  6:  2)  and  loashing  (Mark  7: 
4,  8;  Heb.  9:  10).  ...  It  is  an  important  and 
universally  recognized  principle,  that  the  Biblical 
and  classical  usage  of  the  same  word  is  often  very 
diflerent." 

W.  B.  Pope,  "  Compendium  of  Christian  The- 
ology," vol.  III.,  p.  322,  adds  his  testimony:  "The 
word  baptize,  in  the  original  Greek,  whether  in 
its  classic  or  in  its  scriptural  use,  is  capable  of 
both  significations  [immersion  and  sprinkling], 
.  .  .  The  word  in  all  its  forms  refers  to  the  con- 
tact of  water  without  prescribing  the  manner." 

What,  now,  is  the  conclusion  from  this  philo- 
logical examination  of  the  word  (SaTrriCco  ibaptizo)t 


188         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

1.  That  Dr.  Carson  and  his  followers  are  wrong 
in  teaching  that  "  baptizo  always  signifies  to  dip, 
never  expressing  anything  but  mode." 

2.  That  whatever  be  its  relative  meaning  in 
profane  and  sacred  literature,  this  word,  in  its 
untranslated  form,  is  always  used  in  the  'New 
Testament  in  speaking  of  the  ordinance  of  Chris- 
tian baptism. 

3.  That  when  so  used,  its  ritual,  Christianized 
signification  is  always  the  same,  as  referring  to  the 
application  of  water  to  a  person  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

4.  But  that  not  the  least  intimation  is  fur- 
nished as  to  the  mode  of  applying  the  water,  so 
far  as  the  meaning  of  the  word  is  concerned. 

Therefore,  to  return  to  our  first  sub-proposition, 
we  repeat,  that  modalism  cannot  be  proved  from 

THE  WORD  ftrntri^u  (bAPTIZO). 

We  have,  of  course,  based  this  position  of  our 
argument  exclusively  upon  verbal  definition  —  a 
mere  philological  aspect  of  the  word.  We  have 
examined  the  lexicons,  produced  specimens  from 
the  writings  of  classic  authors,  sacred  Scriptures, 
—  Old  and  New  Testament, — Apocrypha,  Church 
fathers,  versions,  etc.,  in  which  the  word  baptizo 
occurs.  We  have  carefully  examined  the  mean- 
ings which  these  different  writers  gave  to  the 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  189 

word,  and  now  are  fully  prepared  to  say  that, 
instead  of  always  having  only  one  meaning,  it  has 
a  multitude  of  meanings.  Ko  one,  unless  preju- 
diced by  preconceived  notions,  will  dare  to  deny 
this  fact.  We  can  appeal  to  no  higher  court  for 
the  true  meaning  and  sense  of  a  word,  in  any  lan- 
guage, than  to  those  who  have  written  and  used 
the  word  in  that  language;  for  Dr.  Carson  him- 
self says  emphatically  in  capitals,    "Use  is  the 

SOLE  ARBITER  OP  LANGUAGE,  AND  WHATEVER  IS  AGREE- 
ABLE  TO   THIS  AUTHORITY,  STANDS  JUSTIFIED   BEYOND 

impeachment"  (p.  46).  "Use,"  this  " sole  arbiter," 
has  testified  that  baptizo  has  various  meanings. 

Almost  every  word  admits  of  several  significa- 
tions; but,  perhaps,  no  word  in  any  language  has 
such  a  wide  latitude  of  meanings  and  variety  of 
applications  as  the  word  baptizo. 

In  the  midst  of  such  a  catalogue  of  definitions 
and  jargon  of  confusion,  how  shall  it  be  possible 
to  establish  a  univocal  definition  of  unvaried 
meaning,  much  less  to  give  it  any  certain  modal 
signification  ? 

Scholars  and  linguists  may[|study  the  philology 
of  BaTTTL^G)  (baptizo)  until  they  die,  and  they  will 
never  be  able  to  decide  anything  as  to  its  mode. 
To  turn  to  the  word  itself  for  an  argument  is  idle 
and  useless;  and  he  who  consults  this  uninspired 
oracle  will  receive  no  certain  response. 


190         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  EXAMPLES  OF  BAPTISMS  RECORDED 
IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT. 

Sub-Projwsition  II. 

MODALISM  CANNOT  BE  PROVED  FROM  ANY  SCRIPT- 
URAL EXAMPLE   OF   THE   ORDINANCE   OF   BAPTISM. 

Here  we  pass  from  the  lyhilological  to  the  histor- 
ical argument.  Having  shown  conclusively  that 
nothing  can  be  ascertained  from  a  discussion  of 
the  word  (SaTrriCo)  {haptizo)  as  to  mode,  let  us  now 
examine  the  inspired  record,  to  see  if  any  illus- 
tration of  the  ordinance  of  ritual  baptism  will 
throw  any  more  light  upon  the  subject  of  mode. 
Can  any  instance  in  sacred  writ  be  produced  that 
is  decisive  and  conclusive  on  this  question?  We 
surmise  not.  Both  parties  in  the  controversy 
claim  certain  Bible  examples  of  baptism  as  cor- 
roborative historical  proofs  of  their  theory  of 
mode.  They  say,  "  Here,  at  least,  is  a  clear  case 
of  immersion,  sprinkling,  from  the  use  of  the 
word,  or  under  the  existing  circumstances,  being 
impossible"',  or,  "Here  is  a  plain  example  of 
sprinkling  or  pouring,  immersion,  in  the  nature 
of  the  case,  being  iinpossible,"     But  a  candid  and 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  191 

unbiased  examination  will  show  that  there  exist 
no  such  impossibilities,  the  only  impossibility  being 
that  of  proving  the  existence  of  such  impossibilities. 
E'o  one  has  yet  been  able  to  explain  satisfactorily, 
either  by  exegesis  or  history,  in  what  mode  any 
of  the  "New  Testament  baptisms  were  adminis- 
tered. This,  no  doubt,  will  remain  a  perplexing 
and  unsolved  question,  until  the  Lord  shall  see  fit 
to  give  us  additional  revelation  thereupon.  But 
as  the  matter  of  mode  is  so  unimportant  and  un- 
essential to  valid  baptism,  we  do  not  expect  nor 
need  any  such  revelation. 

It  is  strange  that  the  same  example  which  is 
used  by  one  to  prove  immersion,  is  used  by  an- 
other to  prove  sprinkling  or  pouring.  This  only 
shows  that  the  circumstances  of  the  case  admit 
of  either  mode,  and  that  it  is  almost  as  easy  to 
believe  that  the  subjects  were  baptized  in  one  way 
as  in  another. 

True,  there  are  instances  where  the  weight  of 

probability  preponderates  in  favor  of  one  or  the 

other  mode;  but  a  probability  is  not  equal  to  a 

proof. 

Example  A, 

John's  Baptism. 
The  following  texts  are  the  subjects  of  contro- 
versy:    "And  John  also  was  baptizing  in  JEnon 


192         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

near  to  Salim,  because  there  was  much  water 
[ySara  ttoIU,  udata  polla ;  i.  e.,  "many  waters," — 
margin  in  Ee vised  Version]  there"  (John  3:  23). 
"  Then  went  out  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judea, 
and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan,  and  were 
baptized  of  him  in  Jordan  ["in  the  river  Jor- 
dan,"— Revised  Version],  confessing  their  sins" 
(Matt.  3:  5,  6).  "John  did  baptize  in  the  wilder- 
ness" (Mark  1:  4). 

From  this  record  of  John's  baptism,  who  is 
prepared  to  demonstrate,  upon  sufficient  evidence, 
in  what  mode  John  baptized  the  people?  On  the 
doctrine  of  immersion  as  implied  in  the  above 
passages,  the  arguments  pro  and  con,  hitherto 
advanced,  are  total  failures.  Let  us  trace  them 
to  their  ultimate  conclusions,  and  detect  their 
fallacies. 

The  Baptists,  of  course,  first  and  last,  build 
their  faith  on  their  way  of  defining  the  word 
baptize.  John  the  Baptist  baptized  the  people, 
must  mean  that  John  the  Dipper  dipped  the  peo- 
ple. We  have  already  shown  the  fallacy  of  this 
philological  argument,  in  our  first  sub-proposition. 
As  soon  as  immersionists  can  show  that  God,  by 
divine  inspiration  and  unalterable  decree,  fixed  a 
uniform  and  infallible  definition  of  this  word,  will 
we  accept,  without  controversy,  the  sufficiency  of 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  193 

their  argument.  Such  a  proof  would  forever  set- 
tle the  question,  whether  or  not  John  baptized  by 
immersion.  But  such  proof  has  never  been  pre- 
sented. It  is  not,  therefore,  decided  that  John 
ever  immersed  the  subjects  of  his  baptism. 

On  the  contrary,  the  anti-Baptists  try  to  show, 
from  topography,  modern  stand-points,  and  math- 
ematical calculations,  the  absurdity  and  impossi- 
bility of  immersing  the  great  number  that  flocked 
to  John's  ministry  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
his  baptism.     They  claim  that — 

1.  "  The  wilderness  "  where  John  baptized  was 
an  extensive  desert,  with  only  here  and  there  small 
oases  with  scanty  water,  not  sufficient  for  the  total 
immersion  of  a  single  person;  that  even  at  u^non 
and  the  river  Jordan,  where  "there  was  much 
water,"  the  people  who  had  gathered  together, 
out  of  mere  curiosity  to  see  and  hear  John,  were 
not  provided  with  '^  baptismal  robes,''  or  a  change 
of  clothing,  etc. 

All  this  will  do  when  we  wish  to  speak  of  the 
inconveniences  of  dipping,  under  the  existing  cir- 
cumstances; but  it  is  far  from  meeting  the  re- 
quirements of  a  positive  proof  against  immersion. 
If  John  considered  immersion  necessary  to  valid 
baptism,  the  obstacles  and  inconveniences  in  the 
way  could  easily  have  been  overcome.    Some  kind 

13 


194         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

of  baptismal  fout  could  have  been  constructed 
in  the  "wilderness"  for  the  occasion,  as  well  as 
those  now  provided  in  nearly  all  Baptist  churches; 
and  if  this  would  have  proved  too  laborious  a 
task,  the  people  knew  how  easily  they  could  as- 
semble at  the  river  Jordan,  which  flowed  through 
the  midst  of  the  "wilderness,"  and  which  had 
every  facility  for  dipping,  and  to  which,  it  is  said, 
John  often  resorted  for  baptism. 

If  the  people  wished  change  of  clothing,  what, 
we  ask,  was  in  the  way  to  hinder  such  accommo- 
dations? Why  study  how  to  create  obstructions 
like  these,  and  not  reflect  how  easily  they  could 
have  been  removed  in  order  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  immersion?  Even  in  the  midst  of  grave 
embarrassments,  men  of  purpose,  like  John  the 
Baptist,  have  surmounted  barriers,  not  by  yield- 
ing to  circumstances,  but  by  making  circumstances 
yield  to  them.  It  is  easy  for  an  opponent  of  im- 
mersion to  imagine  all  sorts  of  difficulties  under  a 
given  circumstance;  but  until  he  has  proved  the 
existence  of  such  difficulties,  and  that  such  diffi- 
culties could  not  be  removed,  or  loere  not  removed 
in  the  performance  of  what  John  may  have  deemed 
a  bounden  duty,  he  has  guessed  much,  but  proved 
little. 

2.     The  anti-Baptists  claim  that  it  was  impos- 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  195 

sible  for  John  to  immerse  so  great  a  multitude 
as  is  described  in  Matt.  3:  5,  6,  during  the  short 
time  of  his  ministry. 

It  is  said  that  "  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judea,  and 
all  the  region  round  about  Jordan,"  were  baptized 
of  or  by  John.  By  an  examination  of  the  cen- 
sus of  the  population,  at  this  period  of  the  history 
of  Jerusalem,  all  Judea,  and  all  the  portions  of 
Palestine,  that  were  baptized  by  John,  some  have 
tried  to  calculate,  although  with  various  results, 
the  number  baptized.  Mr.  Thorn  estimates  the 
number  at  two  millions,  Hibbard  at  three  millions, 
Goodwin  at  three  hundred  thousand,  and  others 
make  the  number  even  less.  They  also  ^^  the 
time  during  which  John  must  have  been  engaged 
in  his  ministry  of  baptizing,  ranging  from  six  to 
twelve  months.  Deducting  one  wintry  season, 
forty-three  Sabbaths  wherein  it  was  unlawful  for 
John  to  baptize  according  to  Jewish  custom,  and 
allowing  six  hours  each  day  for  actual  work  in 
immersing,  it  is  estimated  that  he  must  have 
actually  immersed  one  in  about  every  two  sec- 
onds of  time  !  Hence,  they  exclaim.  Impossible! 
Impossible  !  !  and  infer  that  the  alternative  — 
sprinkling  or  pouring  —  is  the  only  mode  possible 
under  the  given  circumstances. 

Such  reasoning  is  more  fanciful  than  truthful. 


196         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

It  overlooks  two  fundamental  facts.  The  language 
used  by  Matthew,  to  express  the  number  baptized, 
must  be  understood  either  in  a  (1)  literal  or  a  (2) 
figurative  sense.  If  the  expression,  "Jerusalem," 
''all  Judea,"  and  ''all  the  region  round  about 
Jordan,"  is  a  hyperbole,  it  is  simply  childish  to 
subject  it  to  strict  arithmetical  calculation.  When 
John  says  that  the  things  which  Jesus  did  while 
on  earth,  if  they  were  all  written  out,  "  the  world 
itself  could  not  contain  the  books  that  should  be 
written,"  we  might  try  to  compute  the  millions 
upon  millions  of  volumes  necessary  to  verify  the 
literal  statement  of  the  evangelist,  until  everybody 
would  exclaim.  Impossible!  Impossible!!  But  a 
hyperbolical  expression,  whenever  used,  is  an 
emphatic  way  of  saying  "a  great  many."  Ko 
doubt,  John  baptized  a  great  many,  A  thousand, 
or  a  million,  might  be  figuratively  expressed  as  a 
great  many;  but  how  can  we  give  any  definite 
figures  to  a  number  expressed  by  a  figure  of 
speech? 

But  even  upon  the  supposition  that  the  lan- 
guage of  Matthew  is  to  be  explained  literally 
(which,  however,  no  one  would  attempt  to  do), 
there  cannot  be  produced  scriptural  evidence  that 
so  great  a  number  could  not  all  have  been  im- 
mersed.    Leaders  of  great  religious  movements 


THE    MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  197 

usually  have  their  assistants,  or  subordinates,  so 
that  they  do  not  perform  all  the  work  personally, 
but  are  aided  instrumentally  by  others  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  their  office,  as  in  the  case  of  Moses 
(Ex.  18:  25,  26)  and  Samuel  (I.  Sam.  8:  1).  It  is 
said  that  Jesus  and  Paul  baptized,  not  with  their 
own  hands,  but  with  those  authorized  by  them  to 
do  the  work  for  them.  So  the  assertion  that 
the  multitudes  were  baptized  "by"  or  "of"  him 
(John),  may  be  like  another,  where  it  is  said  that 
"Herod  had  laid  hold  on  John,  and  bound  him 
in  prison,"  when  it  is  understood  that  Herod  was 
the  authoritative  cause,  not  the  executing  officer, 
of  the  arrest.  We  have  numerous  instances  in 
scripture  of  a  company  under  a  leader,  assisting 
and  uniting  in  the  work  of  his  office. 

Who,  then,  is  prepared  to  prove  that  if  John 
baptized  more  than  would  have  been  possible  for 
himself  to  do  in  the  time  allotted,  he  was  not 
amply  assisted  by  his  disciples  as  deputies,  so  as 
to  render  the  work  comparatively  easy?  The  ex- 
aggerated "impossibilities"  of  immersion,  which 
many  anti-Baptist  writers  love  to  dwell  upon,  are 
huge  myths  manufactured  out  of  fanciful  mate- 
rial, without  any  real  foundation  at  all. 

But  in  disproving  the  impossibility  of  immer- 
sion, we  have  not  proved  that  the  people  were 


198        THE  DOCTRINE    OF  CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

immersed;  for  Dr.  Carson  well  says  (p.  73),  "la 
proving  that  a  thing  is  not  impossible,  there  is  no 
obligation  to  prove  that  any  of  the  possible  ways 
of  solution  did  actually  occur.  The  bare  possi- 
bility of  existence  is  enough";  and  the  way  is 
open  for  the  employment  of  any  mode. 

The  question  then  remains,  "How  did  John 
baptize  his  followers?"  Perhaps  he  immersed 
them,  perhaps  he  sprinkled  water  upon  them, 
perhaps  he  sprinkled  some  and  dipped  others,  as 
was  most  convenient,  or  as  each  applicant  desired 
or  preferred.  ^N'either  mode  was  impossible,  or  un- 
lawful, or  unreasonable,  "Where  scripture  is  totally 
silent  concerning  controverted  points,  and  gives 
insufficient  data  upon  which  to  base  a  conclu- 
sion, it  is  folly  to  pretend  to  prove  from  scripture 
a  preconceived  notion,  handed  down  to  us  by  tra- 
dition.    Such  are  our  notions  about  John's  mode 

of  baptizing. 

Example  B. 

The  Baptism  of  Jesus  by  John. 
This  example,  philologically  and  critically  con- 
sidered, is  one  of  the  strong,  illustrative  evidences 
in  the  Bible  in  favor  of  immersion,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  texts:  "And  Jesus,  when  he 
was  baptized,  went  up  [aveliT],  anebe]  straightway 
out  of  the  water  [airb  tov  vdarog,  apo  tou  udatos']." 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  199 

(Matt.  3:  16.)  ^'And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days  that  Jesus  came  from  ITazareth  of  Galilee, 
and  was  baptized  of  John  in  Jordan  [elf  rbv  'lopSdvvv^ 
eis  ton  lordaneny     (Mark  1:  9.) 

Some  light  is  thrown  upon  the  import  of  the 
word  ^aiTTi^o)  (baptizo)  by  its  adjuncts  or  accom- 
panying conjunctions. 

The  preposition  h  {en),  primarily  meaning  in, 
never  has  the  meaning  into,  except  when  follow- 
ing a  verb  of  motion;  it  indicates  a  state  of  rest 
in  the  place  whither  the  motion  is  directed.  The 
Jews,  in  writing  Greek,  often  used  the  Greek 
h  (en),  as  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  2,  where  the 
classic  Greek  simply  used  the  dative  case,  without 
any  preposition.  Hence,  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
Luke  often  used  it  with  the  instrumental  dative; 
and  in  Matt.  3:  11,  ^'I  indeed  baptize  you  iviih 
water  \_h  vi^an,  en  udati\  unto  repentance  [elq  /nETdvoiav, 
eis  metanoian'],^'  indicates  the  element  used  in 
John's  baptism,  namely,  ^^ivith  ivater,^'  rather 
than  a  position  in  the  element,  namely,  in  loater. 
The  phrase,  h  tu  'lopddvri  (en  to  lordane),  simply  sig- 
nifies position  in  Jordan;  whether  in  the  Jordan 
dale,  on  the  bank  of  the  inner  channel,  or  in  the 
water  of  the  river,  who  can  tell?  And  if  any  one 
could  decide  the  question  of  exact  position,  who 
will  tell  us  in  what  way  the  water  was  applied,  as 


200         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

expressed  by  the  words  h  vSan  (en  udati)1  This 
use  of  the  preposition,  of  couse,  applies  to  John's 
baptism. 

But  in  the  case  of  Christ's  baptism  we  have  the 
word  elq  (eis),  instead  of  h  (en),  with  the  accusa- 
tive 'lopddvrjv  (lordanen),  "  was  baptized  of  John  in 
or  into  the  Jordan  \e\q  rhv  'lopddvvv^  eis  ton  lordanen"]." 
This,  in  connection  with  the  phrase  ek  tov  vdarog 
(ek  ton  udaios),  seems  to  describe  a  case  of  im- 
mersion. It  is,  at  least,  the  only  example  in 
scripture  in  which  this  grammatical  construction 
connects  the  word  baptize  with  water  in  a  way 
that  looks  like  an  intention  to  express  immersion. 

The  Baptists  seem  to  triumph  over  this  as  a 
clear  and  decisive  case  in  their  favor;  and  Dr. 
Carson  says,  "  Mark  1 :  9,  then,  itself  decides  the 
controversy.  It  is  into  the  Jordan;  and  nothing 
but  into  the  Jordan  it  can  be.  .  .  .  There  is  not 
in  Europe,  there  never  was  in  existence,  a  great 
scholar,  who  would  deny  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
immersed  in  the  Jordan.'' 

Strong  as  is  this  argument  favoring  our  Savior's 
immersion,  it  is,  nevertheless,  vulnerable  at  several 
points.  Against  the  boasted  infallibility  of  the 
above  argument,  there  are  a  few  passages  in 
scripture  where  ek  (eis)  occurs  in  the  same  gram- 
matical construction  as  in  Mark  1 :  9,  that  do  not 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  201 

admit  of  the  sense  in  or  into;  such  as  John  11 ;  32: 
"  She  fell  down  at  his  feet  [ek  rohc  rrddac  ahrov,  eis  tons 
podas  autouy  Here  the  sense  of  in  or  into  is 
impossible.  In  John  20:  4,  5,  it  is  said,  "One 
came  to  the  sepulcher  [ek  rb  juvvjueiov,  eis  to  mnemeion], 
yet  went  he  not  in,''  and  in  the  Eevised  Ver- 
sion the  phrase  elg  rb  iivvfxeiov,  is  rendered  'Howard 
the  tomb."  Here  it  is  expressly  stated  in  the  text 
that  the  motion  was  not  into,  but  toward,  or  to  the 
raargin  of  the  tomb. 

Fow,  when  certain  rules  of  syntax  admit  of 
exceptions  in  examples  of  like  construction,  who 
can  tell  whether  or  not  Mark  1 :  9  may  not  also  be 
one  of  the  exceptions,  and  may,  perhaps,  mean 
that  Jesus  was  baptized  at  Jordan,  without  im- 
plying that  he  was  in  the  water?  This  rendering 
would  not  be  inconsistent  with  anb  vdaro^  {apo 
udatos),  "went  up  straightway /rom  the  water,'' 
since  aTvb  (apo)  is  usually  translated  from,  not  out 
of.  Dr.  Carson,  in  his  work  on  baptism,  p.  126, 
himself  says,  "I  admit,  the  proper  translation  of 
cTTo  is  from,  and  not  out  of  ,  .  .  I  perfectly  agree 
with  Mr.  Ewing,  that  arrb  would  have  its  meaning 
fully  verified,  if  they  had  only  gone  down  to  the 
edge  of  the  water."  But  his  argument  is,  "If 
baptism  had  not  been  immersion,  there  could  be 
no  adequate  cause  alleged  for  going  to  the  river"; 


202         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

but  this  logic  can  easily  be  counterpoised  by  an- 
other; namely,  if  going  to  the  river  is  a  reason 
for  immersion  on  account  of  the  "  much  water," 
then  not  going  to  the  river  on  many  other  occa- 
sions of  baptism,  is  also  a  reason  for  sprinkling 
or  pouring  on  account  of  little  water.  One  ar- 
gument neutralizes  the  other.  Says  Dr.  Robert 
Wilson,  "  Out  of  nine  or  ten  localities  specified  in 
the  [N'ew  Testament,  as  the  scenes  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  baptism,  only  two,  ^non  and  Jordan, 
possessed  a  liberal  supply  of  water.  Much  water 
is  the  exception;  little  water  is  the  rule."  It  is 
doubtful  whether  Dr.  Wilson's  statement  as  to  the 
quantity  of  water  in  Palestine  can  be  verified; 
but  the  mentioning  or  not  mentioning  of  water 
and  its  quantity,  can  furnish  only  a  feeble  argu- 
ment on  mode  of  baptism,  since  without  formal 
statement,  it  is  understood  by  all  that  water  is  al- 
ways necessary  to  ritual  Christian  baptism  (though 
its  quantity  be  a  matter  of  dispute),  no  matter 
whether  or  not  any  water  is  mentioned  in  the 
sacred  narrative. 

Besides,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
Church,  the  apostles  had  no  houses  in  which  to 
preach  and  baptize;  where  else  could  they  preach 
and  baptize  but  in  the  open  air  and  beside  streams 
of  water? 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  203 

All  that  the  scripture  affirms  concerning  the 
mode  of  Christ's  baptism  is,  that  he  went  slg  (eis), 
AT,  TO,  or  INTO,  the  river;  and  came  up  straight- 
way aird  (apo),  OUT  OF,  or  FROM,  the  water.  Any^ 
thing  different  from  this  inspired  statement  is 
imaginary — taking  from,  or  adding  to,  the  sacred 
word.  The  original  allows  the  following  latitude 
of  meaning,  and  no  more:  He  was  either  in 
the  water,  or  beside  the  water.  If  in  the  water, 
we  do  not  have  the  least  shadow  of  information 
how  deep  in,  whether  he  was  put  under  the  water 
in  toto,  or  stood  at  the  river's  margin,  or  within 
the  stream,  and  had  water  poured  or  sprinkled 
over  him.  With  this  information  given  by  Mark, 
we  must  rest  satisfied.  Our  curiosity  to  know  for 
certain  in  what  particular  way  Christ  was  bap- 
tized, can  never  be  gratified.  And,  surely,  this  is  a 
matter  of  small  moment.  If  it  had  any  import- 
ance whatever  in  our  concern,  or  in  the  economy 
of  grace,  or  the  role  of  Christian  duty,  the  Lord 
undoubtedly  would  have  revealed  it,  and  not  left 
us  to  grope  in  the  dark  and  guess  at  what  he 
deemed  cardinal  in  our  salvation. 

To  be  consistent,  we  dare  not  fix  the  meaning 
of  etc  (eis),  except  from  the  connection  in  which  it 
is  used,  and  the  circumstances  of  which  are  suffi- 
ciently known  to  warrant  a  certain  meaning  out 


204         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHKISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

of  the  many  meanings  assignable  to  it.  If  we 
take  the  position  that  eis  always  and  necessarily 
means  into,  then  Jesus  came  into  Jerusalem  when 
he  was  as  far  ofl'  as  Bethphage  and  the  Mount 
of  Olives  (Matt.  21 :  1) ;  then  Peter  went  into  the 
sea,  when  he  was  commanded  to  go  only  to  the  sea 
(Matt.  17:  27).  If,  on  the  other  hand,  eis  always 
and  necessarily  means  at  or  near,  then  the  sinner 
will  be  cast  at  or  near  hell,  and  not  into  it  (Matt. 
5:  29);  then  men  put  new  wine  at  or  near  old 
bottles,  not  into  them  (Matt.  9:  17);  and  then 
Koah  entered  beside  or  at  the  ark,  instead  of  into 
it  (Matt.  24:  38).  To  limit  eis  to  only  07ie  mean- 
ing, would  involve  us  in  endless  absurdities. 

Art  furnishes  us  with  many  fanciful  represen- 
tations of  Christ's  baptism.  In  a  fresco  in  the 
Crypt  of  St.  Lucina,  the  oldest  part  of  the  Eoman 
catacomb  of  St.  Callistus,  is  a  picture  whose  antiq- 
uity is  generally  assigned,  by  leading  authorities, 
to  a  date  prior -to  the  close  of  the  second  century. 
Christ  is  unclothed,  stepping  up  from  the  water, 
which  reaches  a  little  above  the  knees,  and  his 
hand  clasped  by  another  clad  in  a  tunic,  and 
standing  on  a  bank,  or  shore.  In  the  air  above, 
hovers  a  dove  with  a  leaf  in  its  mouth.  In  the 
church  in  Cosmedin,  at  Ravenna,  is  preserved  a 
Mosaic,  which  was  erected  in  the  year  A.  D.  401. 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  205 

It  represents  our  Savior  standing  on  the  margin 
of  the  Jordan,  partially  in  the  water,  and  John, 
standing  on  a  rock  projecting  from  the  bank,  and 
from  a  shell  in  his  right  hand,  pouring  water  on 
the  Redeemer's  head. 

Forming  the  center  piece  of  the  dome  of  an 
Arian  baptistry,  at  Ravenna,  which  was  built  and 
decorated  in  454  after  Christ,  we  have  another 
mosaic  representation  of  the  baptism  of  Jesus. 
As  in  the  former,  he  is  standing  partially  in  the 
water,  and  John,  from  a  rock  above,  is  pouring 
out  water  on  his  head.  In  the  church  on  the  Via 
Ostiensis,  at  Rome,  was  a  picture  on  a  plate  of 
brass,  partly  engraved  and  partly  in  relief.  In 
this  picture,  Christ  is  not  even  in  the  water,  but 
standing  near  the  stream,  while  John,  with  a  shell, 
is  pouring  water  on  his  head. 

All  such  ideal  creations  are  unreliable.  They 
may  have  been  suggested  to  artists  by  unfaithful 
translations  of  the  scripture  narrative,  or  false  his- 
torical representations,  like  the  horns  of  Michael 
Angelo's  Moses,  which  were  suggested  by  Jerome's 
erroneous  translation  of  the  words  descriptive  of 
Moses'  countenance  when  he  came  down  from  the 
flaming  mount.  In  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  Sep- 
tuagint,  Moses'  face  was  called  cornua,  radiant  or 
rayed,  which  Jerome  incorrectly  rendered  coimuta, 


206         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

meaning  horned.  A  similar  instance  occurs  in 
Heb.  3:  4.  "He  had  horns  coming  out  of  his 
hand,"  is  rendered  correctly  by  J^oyes,  "Eays 
stream  forth  from  his  hand,"  it  being  common  in 
Arabic  to  call  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun 
horns,  as  a  poetic  expression  for  beams  or  rays  of 
light.  Accordingly,  Angelo  represents  a  couple 
of  horns  arising,  strangely  enough,  out  of  Moses' 
forehead.  The  same  error  is  presented  in  many 
of  the  old  paintings,  which  portray  the  great 
Jewish  legislator  with  fans  of  light  spreading 
outward  and  upward  from  the  brow.  We  need 
not  wonder  how  and  why  so  many  unscriptural 
notions  of  the  manner  of  Christ's  baptism  have 
gained  currency  in  dift'erent  ages,  and  among  dif- 
ferent people.  History,  poetry,  and  art,  in  their 
most  brilliant  triumphs  of  achievements,  often  per- 
vert the  simple  truth.  A  lie,  says  an  old  proverb, 
will  go  round  the  world  while  Truth  is  pulling 
his  boots  on.  The  same  is  true  of  a  mistake;  and 
when  once  it  gets  possession  of  the  world,  it 
seems  to  have  a  perennial  life.  Jerome  could 
never  have  imagined  that  that  false  translation 
would  guide  every  artist's  brush  and  every  sculp- 
tor's chisel  until  the  end  of  time. 

The  modern  searcher  after  truth  must  brush 
away  the  tinsel  of  art  and  the  dust  of  centuries, 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  207 

and  come  to  the  original  fount,  the  pure  uncor- 
rupted  document  of  inspiration.  Doing  this  can- 
didly and  with  unbiased  faith,  we  do  not  see  how 
a  doctrine  of  mode  can  be  successfully  established 
from  the  evangelists'  description  of  Christ's  bap- 
tism. Looking  to  our  great  Example  for  an 
example  of  the  mode  in  which  he  received  the 
ordinance,  we  look  in  vain. 

But  even  if  the  actual  mode  of  his  personal 
baptism  could  be  ascertained,  it  could  be  of  little 
benefit  to  us,  since  we  could  not  be  expected  to 
follow  him  in  his  mode,  any  more  than  we  are  fol- 
lowing his  example  in  delaying  baptism  till  the 
thirtieth  year,  keeping  the  passover,  fasting  forty 
days  and  forty  nights  after  baptism.  He  received 
the  rite  in  a  different  name,  and  for  a  different 
purpose,  than  we  do.^  Our  obligation  to  baptize 
rests  upon  the  commission  of  Christ  to  his  apostles 
after  the  resurrection,  and  not  upon  his  example 
at  Jordan. 

Examijle  C. 

Baptism  of  Three    Thousand    on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost. 

This  for  many  years  has  been  a  noted  battle- 
field  for   controversy  between   the  enemies  and 

1.    See  Part  I.,  Chap.  V.,  pp.  16, 17,  18. 


208         THE   DOCTRINE   OE   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

friends  of  immersiou.  The  longer  the  discussion 
continues,  the  more  difficult  becomes  the  solution. 
Every  new  effort  made  on  either  side  is  a  devia- 
tion from  the  original  question,  so  that  of  late  the 
point  at  issue  has  been  shifted,  and  the  dispute 
of  the  present  day  is  not  so  much  about  the  im- 
mersion or  non-immersion  of  the  three  thousand, 
but  whether  this  was  an  occasion  of  real  spiritual 
baptism,  or  of  ritual  water  baptism.  K  it  were 
evident  that  this  was  an  example  of  the  former 
kind,  the  heated  controversy  about  its  mode,  the 
supply  of  water  in  and  about  Jerusalem,  and 
the  absurdity  of  dipping  so  great  a  number  must 
at  once  stop  as  being  of  no  practical  interest. 

Dr.  James  W.  Dale  and  Dr.  William  Hamilton, 
two  of  the  latest  and  most  reliable  authors  on  bap- 
tism, interpret  verses  38-41  of  the  second  chapter 
of  Acts,  to  mean  the  moral  regeneration  and  spir- 
itual baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost  of  the  three 
thousand  on  the  day  of  1  entecost,  without  having 
any  reference  to  symbolic  water  baptism. 

The  following  are  considerations  in  their  favor: 

1.  The  New  Testament  speaks  of  two  kinds 
of  baptism  —  ritual  and  spiritual. 

2.  The  spiritual  baptism  was  foretold  by  John 
the  Baptist:  "I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water 
unto  repentance.  .  .  .  He  shall  baptize  you  ivitk 


THE   MODE   OP   BAPTISM.  209 

the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire  ";  and  also  Joel :  "  It 
shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I 
will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh;  and  your 
sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy  .  .  .  and 
on  my  servants  and  my  handmaids  I  will  pour  out 
my  Spirit  .  .  .  and  whosoever  shall  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  As  this  was 
the  first  sermon  preached  under  Christianity, 
Peter,  no  doubt,  had  these  promises  in  mind  as 
being  fulfilled,  when  he  said,  "Eepent,  and  be 
baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  re- 
ceive the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise 
[the  pouring  out  of  the  Holy  Ghost]  is  unto  you, 
and  to  your  children." 

3.  The  word  "  baptize,"  in  verses  38  and  41  of 
Acts,  chapter  2,  has  no  mention  of  water  con- 
nected with  it,  and  may  be  used  in  the  same  sense 
as  in  verse  5,  chapter  1. 

4.  We  have  no  account  that  all  the  converts 
to  Christianity  in  the  primitive  Church  received 
ritual  bapti^n.  "Much  people  was  added  unto 
the  Lord" — "  daily"  those  who  were  being  saved, 
not  by  ritual,  but  saving  baptism  of  repentance 
and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  At  least,  we  are  not 
informed  in  scripture  whether  those  who  were 
spiritually  baptized  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  also 

14 


210         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

received  its  emblematic  representation  in  the  form 
of  water  baptism. 

But  if  Dr.  Dale's  interpretation  of  Acts  2:  38, 
41,  excluding  the  water  symbol  from  the  Pente- 
costal baptism  spoken  of  by  Peter,  could  never 
be  established,  we  still  would  be  unable  to  decide 
in  what  mode  the  ritual  water  baptism  of  the 
three  thousand  was  administered. 

The  most  successful  attempt  toward  modalism 
in  this  example,  like  that  of  the  first  example, 
has  been  made  by  the  Pedobaptists  in  favor  of 
aspersion  or  of  aflusion,  by  endeavoring  to  elabo- 
rate on  the  impracticability  and  impossibility  of 
immersing  so  many  in  a  few  hours.     They  argue : 

1.  The  time  for  the  performance  of  the  cere- 
mony was  very  short.  Peter  commenced  his  ser- 
mon the  third  hour  in  the  day — 9:00  a.  m.  He 
must  have  preached,  at  least,  about  one  hour;  for 
in  addition  to  what  is  recorded  of  his  sermon,  it 
is  stated  that  "he  exhorted  and  testified  with 
many  other  ivords.'^  Many  preliminaries,  such  as 
arrangements  for  baptism,  clothings  etc.,  might 
require  about  four  hours  of  preparation.  Then 
he  commenced  to  baptize  at  1:00  p.  m.,  the  day 
closing  at  6:00  P.  M.  In  five  hours,  then,  twelve 
apostles  had  to  immerse  three  thousand  persons, 
which  would  allow  each  apostle  a  little  over  a 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  211 

minute's  time  to  baptize  one  person.  The  con- 
clusion from  such  calculations  is,  that  the  apostles 
had  no  physical  strength  sufficient  to  immerse  so 
large  a  number  in  so  short  a  time. 

To  all  this  it  may  be  answered:  First^  that 
there  is  no  evidence  that  these  converts  were  all 
baptized  in  one  day.  Second,  if  all  were  baptized 
in  one  day,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  apostles 
were  not  assisted  by  the  seventy,  or  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  disciples  already  belonging  to 
the  infant  Church.  If  the  twelve  apostles  had  the 
right  to  bestow  apostolic  authority  upon  Matthias, 
they  also  could  invest  their  followers  with  the 
right  of  assisting  them  in  the  manual  labor  of 
baptizing.  Third,  if  the  apostles  were  not  thus 
assisted,  though  somewhat  burdensome,  it  would 
by  no  means  have  been  impossible  for  them  to 
accomplish  the  work.  History  has  recorded  many 
parallel  instances  of  as  great,  and  even  greater, 
rapidity  of  baptizing.  It  is  well  known  that 
Chrysostoni  immersed  about  three  thousand  on 
the  16tli  of  April,  A.  D.  404,  though  twice  inter- 
rupted. Bishop  Remigus  immersed  Clovis  and 
three  thousand  of  his  subjects,  aided  by  his  pres- 
byters. Mr.  John  Fox  informs  us  that  Austin, 
the  monk,  baptized  and  christened  ten  thousand 
Saxons,  or  Anglos,  in  the  West  River  that  is 


212         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

called  Swale  beside  York,  on  a  Christmas  day. 
It  is  said  that  Francis  Xavier  baptized  fifteen 
thousand  in  one  day.  If  it  be  objected  to  the 
fairness  of  these  examples  from  early  history,  on 
the  ground  that  we  do  not  know  whether  these 
baptisms  were  immersions,  inasmuch  as  the  an- 
cients and  Church  of  Home  did  not  always  impose 
immersion,  we  can  produce  modern  examples  from 
the  Baptist  missions  where  multitudes  were  im- 
mersed at  the  rate  of  one  a  minute,  and  among 
experts,  in  even  less  time.  Dr.  Downie,  of  the 
Telugu  Baptist  Mission,  says  that  it  took  six 
persons  nine  hours  to  baptize  two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  twenty-two,  and  only  two  were  bap- 
tizing at  a  time,  they  being  relieved,  when  tired, 
by  others.  Elder  Joseph  Knapp  immersed  sixty 
in  Kenka  Lake  in  twenty-eight  minutes,  without 
undue  haste.  A  little  practical  knowledge  of 
immersing  will  convince  any  one  that  the  great 
baptism  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  if  done  by  im- 
mersion, would  not  be  so  diflicult  a  task  as  many 
inexperienced  and  unobserving  writers  would 
imagine.  "  There  is  hardly  an  able-bodied  Bap- 
tist minister  in  the  country  who  would  not  be 
only  too  willing  to  be  one  of  twelve  to  immerse 
three  thousand  almost  any  afternoon."  The  at- 
tempt, then,  of  proving  that  three  thousand  could 
not  have  been  immersed  in  one  day  is  a  failure. 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  213 

2.  The  Pedobaptists  again  argue  that  scarcity 
of  water  iu  and  about  Jerusalem,  would  have  been 
one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  immersion.  It  is 
said  that  Jerusalem  was  a  mountain  city,  with  no 
living  stream,  or  natural  sheet  of  standing  water, 
within  fifteen  miles  of  its  location,  sufficient  to 
immerse  a  man.  They  speak  of  the  pool  of  Beth- 
esda,  or  Bethsaida  and  Bethzatha,  as  in  the  margin 
of  the  Revised  Version,  as  a  deep,  oblong  excava- 
tion, about  seventy-five  feet  deep,  a  receptacle  for 
filth  from  the  drainage  of  sheep  washing,  blood 
of  sacrifices,  and  offal  from  the  cleansing  of  the 
temple,  rendering  it,  therefore,  impracticable  and 
unfit  for  immersing.^  They  say  that  outside  the 
city  water  was  very  scarce.  The  brook  Kedron 
was  dry  nine  months  in  a  year,  and  especially  in 
the  months  of  May  and  June,  sometime  during 
which  the  baptism  of  the  three  thousand  occurred. 
The  pool  of  Siloam  is  described  as  a  feeble,  irreg- 
ular stream  from  under  the  wall  of  the  city,  and 
pouring  into  a  deep,  oblong  pit,  about  nineteen 
feet  deep.  The  upper  and  lower  pools  of  Gihon, 
and  the  pool  of  Hezekiah,  were  some  distance 

1.  Suffice  to  say,  as  discrediting  the  authenticity  of  this  description,  that 
not  all  travelers  and  explorers  agree  in  identifying  the  location  of  this  pool, 
and  in  their  descriptions  of  it;  and  as  to  its  fitness  for  bathing  purposes, 
we  have  the  testimony  of  sacred  Scripture  in  John  5: 1-7,  that  persons  were 
in  the  habit  of  stepping  or  being  carried  into  the  pool  of  Bethesda  for  the 
cure  of  various  diseases. 


214        THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

from  the  city,  and  all  dry,  except  in  the  rainy  sea- 
sons; and  that  Solomon's  pools  were  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  city,  and  the  Jordan  even  sixteen 
or  eighteen  miles  distant.  The  anti-immersionists 
cannot  find  sufficient  water  in  or  near  the  city  in 
which  any  person  could  swim,  and  therefore  con- 
clude, from  the  scarcity  and  impurity  of  its  supply, 
that  baptismal  immersion  would  be  out  of  the 
question. 

This  historical  parade  about  the  "  scarcity "  of 
water  in  Jerusalem  in  the  times  •  of  the  apostles, 
is  an  empty  ignis  fatuus,  resulting  from  presump- 
tive ignorance,  or  dogmatic  prejudice.  If  there 
ever  was  a  place  on  the  face  of  the  earth  about 
which  there  need  be  no  question  concerning  the 
supply  of  water  and  conveniences  of  its  use  for 
immersion,  in  the  apostolic  age,  that  place  was 
Jerusalem.  History  is  abounding  in  testimony 
that  ancient  Jerusalem  was  abundantly  supplied 
with  water.  Eusebius,  of  the  fourth  century, 
quotes  a  writer  earlier  than  himself  as  saying, 
"  The  whole  city  flowed  with  water,  so  that  even 
the  gardens  were  irrigated  of  these  flowing  waters 
/  out  of  the  city."  Tacitus,  of  the  fourth  century, 
'  refers  to  Jerusalem  as  "a  fountain  of  perennial 
water,  mountains  hollowed  out  underneath;  also, 
fish  pools  and  cisterns,  rain  water  being  pre- 


THE   MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  215 

served."  Canon  Williams,  a  Church  of  England 
clergyman,  long  a  resident  and  a  careful  student 
of  the  Holy  City,  says,  "  There  is  a  singular  agree- 
ment among  all  authors,  sacred  and  profane,  on 
this  fact,  that  the  Holy  City  had  an  abundance  of 
water  within  its  circuit,  while  the  neighborhood 
was  scarcely  supplied,  or  rather  altogether  arid." 
Dr.  Trail,  another  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  an  editor  of  the  works  of  Josephus, 
says  of  Jerusalem,  that  "  perhaps  upon  no  city  of 
the  ancient  world  had  greater  cost  been  bestowed, 
or  more  skill  shown  in  securing  for  it  an  unfailing 
supply  of  water."  The  modern  researches  of 
Dr.  Barclay  and  Captain  Wilson,  and  others,  have 
shown  the  ruins  of  cisterns  and  pools  and  aque- 
ducts in  and  about  Jerusalem,  which  justify  the 
claims  of  its  wonderful  supply  of  water  in  the  days 
of  old.  Every  traveler  in  the  East  can  testify 
that  the  Orientals  are  in  the  habit  of  bathing 
in  and  drinking  from  the  same  pools  and  streams, 
and  the  inspired  writer  tells  us  how  persons  were 
in  the  habit  of  washing  in  the  pool  of  Siloam. 

The  protest  against  the  immersion  of  the  three 
thousand,  on  the  plea  of  the  "shortness  of  time" 
and  "scarcity  of  water,"  then,  should  forever 
cease. 

The  result  of  our  finding,  then,  is  that  a  correct 


216         THE   DOCTRINE  OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

understanding  of  the  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stances of  the  baptism  of  the  three  thousand,  will 
convince  any  one  that  immersion  would  not  have 
been  absurd  or  impossible.  But  this  is  no  more 
an  argument  in  favor  of  immersion  than  it  is  in 
favor  of  affusion  or  aspersion.  It  only  presents 
the  true  nature  of  the  case,  that,  in  reality,  there 
existed  no  obstruction  in  the  way  of  practicing 
either  mode,  but  leaves  the  apostles  free  and  un- 
embarrassed to  exercise  their  own  pleasure  or 
convictions  in  this  respect.  We  have  not  the 
least  authority  f^om  scripture  interpretation,  sa- 
cred or  prof  nistory,  for  the  support  of  any 
theory  ^  .  xuodalism  derived  from  the  baptism  of 
th'-  ..ree  thousand.  All  ive  know  is,  that  they  were 
^aptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  either  ritually 
or  spiritually. 

If  convenience  rather  than  conscientious  theory 
were  the  test  of  mode,  we  can  see  a  reason  for 
sprinkling.  Dr.  William  Hamilton  cites  the  fol- 
lowing example  of  baptism  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  showing  how  easily  a  large  number  can 
be  baptized  in  a  short  time:  "In  the  afternoon 
of  the  first  Sunday  of  July,  1838,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  five  men,  women,  and  children 
were  baptized,  and  two  thousand  four  hundred 
communicants  sat  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord. 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  217 

The  great  crowd  of  people  at  the  morning  service 
had  been  dismissed.     Down  through  the  middle 
aisle  of  the  house  are  seated,  first,  the  original 
members  of  the  Church,  perhaps  fifty  in  number. 
The  missionary  then  calls  upon  the  head-man  of 
each  village  to  bring  forward  his  people.     With 
note-book  in  hand,  he  carefully  selects  the  con- 
verts who  have  been  previously  accepted.     They 
have  been  for  many  weeks  at  the  station,  for  in- 
struction  and   examination.      The  multitude  of 
candidates  are  then  seated  upon  the  earthen  floor, 
in  close  rows,  with  space  enough  between  for  one 
to  walk.     There  is  prayer  and  singing;  and  lest 
any  should  trust  in  the  external  rite,  an  explana- 
tion, made  many  times  before,  is  given  anew  of 
the  baptism  they  are  now  to  receive.     Then  with 
a  basin  of  water  in  his  hand,  the  pastor,  rapidly 
and  reverently,  passes  back  and  forth  along  the 
silent  rows,  and  every  head  receives  the  sealing 
ordinance.     When  all  have  been  thus  touched,  he 
advances  to  the  front,  and,  raising  his  hand,  pro- 
nounces the  hallowed  words,   ^I  baptize  you  all 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.    Amen.'    How  impressive !    How 
simple!     How  easy  for   one  missionary,  in  this 
way,  to  baptize  nearly  two  thousand  people  in  an 
afternoon." 


218        THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

JExample  D. 
Baptism  of  the  Ethiopian  Eunuch. 

It  is  said  in  Acts  8:  38,  39,  "And  he  [Philip] 
commanded  the  chariot  to  stand  still:  and  they 
went  down  both  into  [elf,  eis,  to  or  iJito]  the  water, 
both  Philip  and  the  eunuch;  and  he  baptized  him. 
And  when  they  were  come  up  [k,  ek]  out  of  the 
water,"  etc. 

Here  we  have  a  construction  almostr  like  that 
in  "  Example  B,"  where  Christ's  baptism  is  treated. 
Instead  of  the  one  phrase  in  "Example  B,"  "was 
baptized  in  or  into  Jordan,"  we  have  here  two  acts 
expressed;  First,  going  down  elg  (eis),  to,  or  into, 
the  water;  and  second,  the  baptizing  of  the  eunuch 
by  Philip.  Again,  instead  of  using  the  word  ctto 
(ajyo),  out  of,  or  from,  in  expressing  Christ's  act  of 
departure  from  the  scene  of  baptism,  we  have 
here  another  word,  U  (ek),  which  usually,  but  not 
always,  means  out  of,  to  tell  us  how  the  eunuch 
departed  from  the  place  of  his  baptism. 

Dr.  Carson,  p.  130,  says,  "  This  is  the  distinction 
between  and  and  U.  The  former  denotes  the  point 
of  departure  in  whatever  part  of  the  object  that 
point  is  found;  the  latter  always  supposes  that 
the  point  of  departure  is  ivithin  the  object."  But 
Dr.  Carson  so   often  uses  that  sweeping  word 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  219 

^'always"  when  he  should  modestly  substitute 
usually  or  sometimes.  It  is  easy  to  point  out  ex- 
ceptions to  his  infallible,  universal  "  always."  See 
Acts  12:  7,  where  it  is  said  that  the  chains  fell 
(k,  ek)  off  from  (surely  not  out  of)  Peter's  hands; 
and  in  Acts  28 :  3,  4,  we  read  that  a  viper  came 
out  of  the  fire,  and  fastened  on  Paul's  hand,  "and 
when  the  barbarians  saw  the  beast  (k,  ek)  on  his 
hand,"  etc.  (not  out  of  his  hand). 

But  if  we  allow  that  ek  in  this  case  means  out 
of  as  expressing  a  point  of  departure  within  the 
water,  we  have  not  thereby  proved  a  case  of 
immersion.  Many  of  us  have  gone  down  into  the 
middle  of  a  body  of  water,  and  come  up  out  of  its 
very  midst  without  diving,  or  going  down  under 
the  water.  If,  according  to  Baptists,  the  preposi- 
tions uQ  (eis)  and  U  {ek),  as  well  as  /3a7rnCcj  (bapiizo), 
both  signify  immersion,  then  the  eunuch  was 
baptized  twice,  for  both  went  down  (ek)  into  the 
water,  "and  he  baptized  [immersed]  him";  or  if 
elg  (eis)  and  h  (ek),  independent  of  baptizo,  signify 
immerse,  then  Philip,  the  baptizer,  was  also  im- 
mersed, for  "they  went  down  both  [fir]  into  the 
water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch,"  and  they 
(Philip  and  the  eunuch)  came  (k)  up  out  of  the 
water.  The  going  in  and  the  coming  out  apply 
to  both. 


220         THE    DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

What  incongruities  arise  from  a  strained  effort 
to  force  a  meaning  out  of  a  scripture  passage, 
which  is  not  at  all  inherent  or  apparent  in  the 
language  used!  Let  us  stop  sweating  over  the  use- 
less task  of  making  easy  things  appear  hard.  We 
can  easily  prove  that  the  eunuch  was  baptized 
with  water;  but  what  a  stupendous,  yea,  super- 
human, undertaking  to  prove  that  he  was  baptized 
by  immersion,  or  affusion,  or  aspersion!  He  evi- 
dently was  baptized  in  this,  that,  or  the  other 
mode;  but  which?  That  is  the  question — the 
unsolved  and  unsolvable  mystery. 

Example  E. 
Saul's  Baptism. 

This  example  is  often  used  in  support  of  sprink- 
ling, because  he  was  afflicted  with  blindness,  and 
there  is  no  mention  of  going  to  any  water;  but 
after  receiving  his  sight,  he  immediately  "arose 
[if  not  denoting,  arose  from  his  bed,  is,  stood  up 
and  made  himself  ready],  and  was  baptized'' 
(Acts  9:  18). 

This  may  not  have  been  a  case  of  ritual  water 
baptism,  ^'either  in  this  place,  where  Luke  de- 
scribes the  original  transaction,  nor  in  chapter  22, 
verse  16,  where  Paul  himself  rehearses  the  same 
matter,  is  there  any  mention  of  Ananias  or  any 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  221 

one  else  baptizing  him.  In  both  cases  the  verb 
baptizo  is  in  the  middle  voice,  implying  that  Saul 
baptized  himself;  or,  in  a  reflective  sense,  let  thy- 
self be  baptized;  that  is,  while  praying  he  received 
the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  cleansed  of 
his  sins,  and  therefore  was,  perhaps,  only  spiritu- 
ally  baptized,  as  were  the  other  disciples  upon 
their  conversion  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

But  on  the  supposition  of  a  ritual  baptism,  it 
is,  at  least,  a  useless  waste  of  time  and  study  to 
discuss  the  mode  of  Saul's  baptism.  As  well 
might  we  try  to  decide  whether  he  sat,  or  stood, 
or  lay,  during  his  blindness  at  Damascus,  what 
the  thorn  in  his  flesh  was,  or  whether  he  was 
a  bachelor  or  a  father  during  all  his  natural 
life-time. 

Example  F, 

Baptism  of  Cornelius  and  His  Friends. 

The  next  instance  of  baptism  recorded  in  the 
Kew  Testament,  is  an  account  of  its  first  intro- 
duction among  the  Gentiles;  namely,  Cornelius, 
a  devout  man,  and  his  kinsmen  and  friends  assem- 
bled with  them  at  Csesarea  to  hear  the  preaching 
of  Peter.  These  evidently  received  the  real  spir- 
itual baptism,  as  well  as  its  sign  by  water;  for 
Peter,   in   Acts   11:   15,  16,  compares   it  to   the 


222         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

Spirit's  baptism  of  the  tiiree  thousand  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost:  "And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy 
Ghost  fell  on  them,  as  on  us  at  the  beginning.  Then 
remembered  I  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  that 
he  said,  John  indeed  baptized  with  water;  but  ye 
shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  the 
first  account  of  this  transaction  in  Acts  10:  47, 
Luke  plainly  intimates  that  this  small  assembly 
also  received  water  baptism  after  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  fallen  on  them;  for  Peter  said,  "Can  any 
man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be  bap- 
tized, which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well 
as  we?" 

But  what  about  the  mode?  Is  there  any  way 
of  striking  a  vein  of  information,  in  this  example, 
that  will  lead  to  the  discovery  of  lioio  Cornelius 
and  his  friends  were  baptized  with  water?  All 
we  know  is  that  Feter  "  commanded  them  to  he  hap- 
tized  in  the  name  of  the  LiordP  We  do  not  even 
know  if  the  command  was  ever  carried  out,  or  if 
they  ever  were  ritually  baptized;  and  if  so,  we 
know  not  lohen,  or  lohere,  or  how.  Inspiration 
does  not  say  a  word  upon  these  mooted  questions. 
If  they  were  baptized  immediately  and  in  Cor- 
nelius' house,  the  inference  (not  proof)  might  be 
that  they  were  sprinkled;  if  they  went  out  to 
some  stream  in  order  to  fulfill  Peter's  command, 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  223 

the  inference  (not  proof)  might  be  that  they  were 
immersed.  If  we  could  know  the  flace^  we  could 
not  know  the  mode.  Any  one,  upon  a  moment's 
reflection,  can  see  what  kind  of  a  conclusion  can  be 
obtained  by  building  one  hypothesis  upon  another. 

Other  Miscellaneous  Exam'ples, 

The  other  cases  of  baptism  in  the  [N'ew  Testa- 
ment may  be  grouped  together,  as  nearly  all  alike 
in  the  circumstances  that  bear  upon  the  question 
of  mode,  and  admitting  of  arguments  which  are 
common  to  them  all.     The  examples  are : 

1.  The  Samaritans  who,  upon  the  preaching 
of  Philip, "  were  baptized,  both  men  and  women  " 
(Acts  8:  12,16). 

2.  Lydia  and  her  household.  It  is  simply 
affirmed  of  her  that  "  she  was  baptized,  and  her 
household"  (Acts  16:  15). 

3.  The  jailer  at  Philippi,  after  his  sudden 
conversion,  and  the  preaching  of  Paul  in  his 
house,  "was  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straight- 
way" (Acts  16:  33). 

4.  "  Crispus,  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
believed  on  the  Lord  with  all  his  house;  and 
many  of  the  Corinthians  hearing  believed,  and 
were  baptized"  (Acts  18:  8). 

5.  John's  disciples  at  Ephesus,  learning  tliat 


224        THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

their  first  baptism  was  invalid,  "were  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus"  (Acts  19:  5). 

6.  Crispus  and  Gains,  and  the  household  of 
Stephanas  (I.  Cor.  1:  14,  16). 

It  is  proper  to  observe : 

1.  That  these,  probably,  were  all  symbolical 
water  baptisms.  The  subjects  of  the  first  exam- 
ple were  ritually  baptized  upon  a  profession  of 
their  faith.  "When  they  believed,"  etc.,  "they 
were  baptized,"  and  before  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
"fallen  upon"  them.  In  the  second  case,  Paul 
was  preaching  unto  the  women  assembled  by  the 
river  side,  in  which  assembly  Lydia  of  Thyatira, 
in  Asia,  a  Jewish  proselyte,  was  an  auditor,  and, 
no  doubt,  was  immediately  baptized  at  the  river 
which  fiowed  by  the  proseucha,  after  yielding  her 
heart  unto  the  Lord.  In  the  third  example,  the 
jailer  first  washed  the  stripes  of  Paul  and  Silas, 
which  act  may  have  suggested  to  both  Paul  and 
the  converted  jailer,  the  ordinance  of  that  other 
spiritual  washing  of  regeneration,  as  symbolized 
by  water  baptism.  Like  the  eunuch,  he  might 
have  said,  "See,  water!  what  doth  hinder  me  to 
be  baptized?"  Crispus  and  the  Corinthians  all 
first  exercised  saving  faith  in  Christ,  and  then 
were  baptized.  The  professing  disciples  at  Ephe- 
sus  had  received  John's  baptism  into  repentance, 


THE    MODE    OF    BAPTISM.  225 

but  had  not  jet  heard  of  a  Holy  Ghost.  Then 
"they  were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,"  and  after  the  laying  on  of  hands,  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  upon  them.  As  this  baptism  preceded 
the  affusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  must  have  been 
ritual.  Crispus,  Gains,  and  Stephanas  are  affirmed 
to  have  been  baptized  by  Paul,  which  mention  of 
human  instrumentality  alone  is  enough  to  prove 
its  ceremonial  character. 

2.  The  historical  circumstances  of  these  cere- 
monial baptisms,  so  far  as  recorded  in  scripture, 
give  us  no  more  insight  into  the  vexed  question 
of  mode  than  any  of  the  former  examples  already 
considered.  The  quantity  of  water  used  in  ad- 
ministering these  ordinances  is  a  matter  of  dis- 
pute, and  a  fruitless  controversy  in  ecclesiastical 
ceremony. 

3.  As  the  word  baptizo  (the  only  term  express- 
ive of  Christian  baptism)  has  no  fixed  modal 
signification,  we  can  obtain  no  information  on 
mode  from  this  source. 

We  have  now  reviewed  the  IN'ew  Testament 
examples  of  baptism,  usually  cited  and  claimed 
as  evident  illustrations  of  some  particular  mode 
of  baptizing,  and  found  them  all  neutral  upon 
the  question  of  mode;  and,  therefore,  we  assert 
that  the  true  position  is  expressed  iu  our  second 

15 


226        THE  DOCTRINE   OF  CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

sub-proposition:  Modalism  cannot  be  proved  from 

ANY  SCRIPTURAL  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  ORDINANCE  OF  BAP- 
TISM. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  know  in  what  manner 
the  Xew  Testament  Christians  were  baptized.  A 
happy  reticence  pervades  the  scripture  narrative, 
and  such  uncertainty  is  thrown  around  every  in- 
spired description  of  baptism,  as  defies  the  most 
diligent  efibrt  of  investigation  to  settle.  "What, 
now,  shall  we  do  with  our  perplexity?  If  script- 
ural history  has  nothing  to  say  about  mode;  if 
the  many  attempted  interpretations  and  inferences 
of  the  language  of  inspiration  used  are  unreliable 
speculations;  if  the  word  baptize  is  ambiguous  in 
respect  to  mode,  where  shall  we  go  to  for  a  "  sure 
word  of  testimony"?  Who  will  tell  us  how  the 
primitive  Christians,  spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  were 
baptized,  or  what  is  the  only  mode  of  baptizing 
noiv?  Let  us  have  enough  intellectual  humility 
and  candor  to  say,  "  I  do  not  know." 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  227 


CHAPTER  lY. 

PRECEPTS   AND   TEACHINGS   ON   MODE    EXAMINED. 

Sub- Proposition  III. 

MODALISM  CANNOT  BE  PROVED  BY  ANY  PRECEPT  OR 
TEACHING   OF   THE    SACRED    SCRIPTURES. 

There  is  no  Bible  precept,  positive  or  moral, 
direct  or  indirect,  that  enjoins  any  particular  mode 
of  baptism.  If  there  were,  it  would  be  of  greater 
raithoritj  than  the  meaning  of  the  word  used  to 
designate  it  (ySaTrr/^w),  or  any  clearly  authenticated 
scriptural  example  on  record,  or  both  combined. 
lJ:Tothing  can  outweigh  a  precept,  or  the  force  of 
a  scriptural  injunction.  Whenever  we  discover  a 
"thus  saith  the  Lord,"  all  logomachy  and  illustra- 
tion must  pass  for  naught.  If  scripture  anywhere 
teaches  that  mode  is  essential  in  baptism,  the  con- 
troversy is  forever  at  an  end.  !N'othing  can  bind 
the  conscience  that  is  not  commanded  nor  forbid- 
den by  the  word  of  God.  iTo thing  is  obligatory 
which  God  has  not  enjoined.  The  scripture  is 
our  rule  of  faith.  Whatever  our  formula,  the 
Bible  is  the  test  —  the  court  to  which  it  must 
always  and  finally  be  brought.     This  applies  to 


228         THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

creeds,  catechisms,  and  standards  of  every  descrip- 
tion. Hence,  if  modalism  is  not  a  doctrine  of 
the  Bible,  but  a  doctrine  of  men,  no  ecclesiastical 
body  has  a  right  to  impose  it  on  any  man.  It  is 
as  much  a  duty  to  resist  this  non-biblical  notion 
of  mode  as  it  is  to  refuse  the  worship  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  or  the  dicta  of  the  so-called  infallible 
Pope. 

Modalism  manifests  a  tendency  toward  Roman- 
ism by  enjoining  a  practice  which  is  not  at  all 
taught  in  our  received  canon  of  inspiration,  or  by 
regarding  some  man,  or  class  of  men,  as  infallible 
interpreters  of  the  Scriptures,  who  are  to  dictate 
to  the  Church  what  she  is  to  believe  and  practice. 
There  is  no  more  scriptural  authority  for  modal- 
ism in  baptism,  than  there  is  for  the  supremacy 
of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  the  perpetuity  of  the 
apostleship,  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  the  mass, 
immaculate  conception  of  the  Virgin,  transub- 
stantiation,  purgatory,  or  any  other  tradition  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  We  are  to  "prove 
all  things"  (I.  Thess.  5:  21),  not  by  private  judg- 
ment, but  by  the  "Word.  The  Scriptures  are  not 
of  "  private  interpretation"  (II.  Peter  1 :  20),  when 
left  without  the  interpretation  of  the  Spirit  who 
gave  it. 

It  is  said  that  every  man  has  a  pope  in  his 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  229 

own  bosom  to  lord  over  God's  heritage;  but  when- 
ever men's  opinions  become  laws  to  bind  the 
conscience  of  others,  are  they  usurping  the  ina- 
lienable rights  of  their  brethren.  In  matters  of  in- 
difference, duty  is  a  question  of  private  judgment. 
If,  then,  none  of  the  passages  usually  quoted  in 
favor  of  this  or  that  mode  can  be  legitimately 
used  in  such  an  application,  we  have  a  right  to 
use  any  mode  that  may  appear  the  most  conven- 
ient or  desirable,  asking  no  questions  for  con- 
science's sake. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  precept  that  plainly  or 
directly  enjoins  any  mode  of  baptism;  but  as 
several  passages  of  sacred  writ  are  understood  by 
many  to  refer  indirectly  or  inferentially  to  modal- 
ism,  we  will  review  them  separately. 

1.  "The  like  figure  whereunto  even  baptism 
doth  also  now  save  us  (not  the  putting  away  of 
the  filth  of  the  fiesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good 
conscience  toward  God,)  by  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ."  Eevised  Version:  "Which  also 
after  a  true  likeness  [margin^  in  the  antitype]  doth 
now  save  you,  even  baptism,  not  the  putting  away 
of  the  filth  of  the  fiesh,  but  the  interrogation 
[margin^  or  inquiry  or  appeal]  of  a  good  conscience 
toward  God,  through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ"  (I.  Peter  3:  21). 


230         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

I  Upon  this  scripture,  Baptists  say,  "  They  who 
were  in  the  ark  were  deeply  immersed."  The 
person  who  can  see  immersion  in  the  antitype, 
namely,  the  floating  ark  in  the  days  of  the  flood, 
has  an  extra  faculty  of  perceiving  which  the  gen- 
erality of  men  do  not  possess.  The  ark  which 
contained  Noah  and  his  family  surely  was  not 
immersed  in  the  water  for  one  moment,  but  was 
borne  up  on  the  water,  and  sprinkled  with  the 
falling  rain.  The  above  passage  is  designed  to 
teach  the  significance  of  Christian  baptism,  without 
any  reference  to  mode.  In  the  saving  of  Noah, 
two  things  interposed  by  contraposition  —  water, 
and  the  ark;  the  first,  an  instrument  of  destruc- 
tion; the  second,  an  instrument  of  safety;  similar 
to  the  waters  of  the  Ked  Sea,  which  threatened 
the  destruction  of  the  Israelites;  and  the  dividing 
asunder,  as  a  work  of  their  deliverance.  After 
such  a  likeness  doth  Christian  baptism  now  save 
us.  The  water,  as  an  emblem  of  the  destructive 
power  of  sin,  applied  to  us  in  the  name  of  our 
great  Deliverer,  is  a  sign  that  we  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  as  the  baptism  of  the  flood 
transferred  Noah  from  the  old  world  of  iniquity 
to  the  new  and  renovated  earth,  from  the  com- 
panionship of  the  wicked  to  communion  with 
God.    Christ  came  "by  water  and  blood"  (I.  John 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  231 

5:  6),  as  well  as  by  the  cross  —  all  emblems  of  de- 
struction and  death.  But  it  is  only  as  the  cross 
of  Christ  is  associated  with  his  resurrection,  as 
the  blood  is  contrasted  with  the  life,  so  likewise 
was  it  through  the  water  of  the  drowning  flood, 
necessitating  the  building  of  the  ark  of  God,  that 
salvation  was  obtained  for  [N'oah.  It  is  not  the 
sign,  but  the  thing  signified,  that  saves  us.  On 
this  passage,  Jamieson,  Fausset,  and  Brown  say, 
"  The  antitypical  water;  namely,  baptism  saves 
you  also,  not  of  itself,  nor  the  mere  material 
water,  but  the  spiritual  thing  conjoined  with  it, 
repentance  and  faith,  of  which  it  is  the  sign  and 
seal." 

Again,  the  Jewish  baptisms  were  lustrations 
for  the  purifying  of  the  flesh;  but  Christian  bap- 
tism, says  Peter,  is  not  limited  to  this  efiicacy, 
"  (not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh, 
but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God,) 
by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ." 

This  interpretation  of  the  passage  is  patent 
from  the  context,  and  from  the  analogy  of  the 
figure  used  to  indicate  the  saving  of  ^oah,  and 
the  import  of  Christian  baptism.  But  he  who 
goes  out  of  the  way  to  seek  in  this  passage  a 
mode  of  baptism,  will  not  find  it,  though  he 
search  with  tears  and  with  a  lighted  candle. 


232         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

2.  "  Or  are  ye  ignorant  that  all  we  who  were 
baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into 
his  death?  We  were  buried  therefore  with  him 
through  baptism  into  death:  that  like  as  Christ 
was  raised  from  the  dead  through  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  so  we  also  might  walk  in  newness  of  life  " 
(R.  Y.,  Bom.  6:  3,  4).  Also,  the  passage,  "Having 
been  buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  ye  were 
also  raised  with  him  through  faitk  in  the  working 
of  God,  who  raised  him  from  the  dead"  (R.  Y., 
Col.  2:12). 

These  passages  from  Romans  and  Colossians, 
by  being  misunderstood,  have  done  more  to  create 
the  doctrine  of  immersion  than  any  other  texts 
found  in  the  'Ne\Y  Testament.  From  the  expres- 
sions, "baptized  into  his  death,"  "buried  with  him 
through  baptism,"  it  is  inferred  that  we  are  to  be 
buried  with  Christ  by  baptism  into  water.  If  in 
these  words,  "buried  with  him  through  baptism 
into  death,"  we  are  to  understand  a  literal  water 
burial,  why  not  also  understand  a  literal,  physical 
death?  Besides,  an  analogy  between  immersion 
and  the  death  and  burial  of  Christ  would  be 
unfortunately  fatal;  for  Christ  remained  ^Hhree 
days  "  in  the  grave,  and  such  an  interval  of  water 
immersion  would  be  equal  to  drowning — a  literal 
death,  as  well  as  a  literal  water  burial.     Christ 


THE  MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  233 

died  on  the  cross;  but  crucifixion  and  immersion 
are  not  similar. 

Again,  the  word  "bury"  can  suggest  no  uni- 
form mode;  for  some  nations  bury  by  placing  the 
dead  body  in  a  grotto,  either  a  natural  excavation 
or  a  bed  hewn  in  the  rocks,  some  by  covering 
them  up  in  the  ground,  some  by  burning,  embalm- 
ing, hanging  on  a  tree,  and  among  the  Indians, 
by  placing  it  on  a  platform  above  the  ground. 
How  can  such  diversity  of  burials  be  used  to 
teach  all  people  the  uniform  mode  of  immersion? 

"  Bury,"  in  these  passages,  is  synonymous  with 
Dr.  Dale's  definition  of  baptizo,  as  indicating  com- 
plete effect,  without  any  reference  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  effect  is  brought  about,  so  that 
"bury,"  in  this  connection,  can  no  more  be  made 
to  imply  mode  than  the  word  baptize  can.  It  is 
also  supposed  by  some  that  this  "  baptism  "  spoken 
of  is  spiritual  instead  of  ritual,  since  water  is 
nowhere  mentioned  in  the  texts.  Be  it  real  or 
symbolic,  one  thing  is  certainly  clear,  that  "  buried 
with  him,"  etc.,  does  not  refer  to  the  mode  of  rit- 
ual baptism,  but  is  evidently  used  as  a  figure  of 
the  import  or  significance  of  Christian  baptism. 

What,  then,  are  we  to  understand  by  the  lan- 
guage, "having  been  buried  with  him  through 
baptism"?    As  a  figure,  it  is  beautifully  illustra- 


234         THE    DOCTRIXE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 


t 


tive  of  the  Christian's  change  from  sin  unto  right- 
eousness, of  which  Christian  baptism  is  also  a  sign. 
Paul,  the  author  of  this  passage,  often  compares 
his  spiritual  birth  to  the  sufferings,  death,  burial, 
and  resurrection  of  Christ.  He  speaks  of  sin  as 
*'the  old  man,"  and  of  righteousness  as  "the  new 
man"  (Eph.  4:  22,  24).  Hence,  he  says,  "I  am 
crucified  loiih  ChristP 

1.  As  He  suffered  in  the  days  of  His  passion, 
so  I  suffered  in  spirit  during  threQ  days  of  my 
penitence,  in  blindness,  and  conviction,  and  prayer, 
and  bitter  tears,  until  in  the  agony  of  my  soul,  I 
cried  out,  "  0  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?" 

2.  As  Christ  suffered  until  he  was  dead^  so  I 
nailed  the  body  of  my  sin  to  the  cross,  and  kept 
crucifying  it  until  it  was  dead  throughout  every 
fiber  of  the  carnal  nature.  Hence,  he  says,  "Are 
ye  ignorant  that  all  we  who  were  baptized  into 
Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his  deatliV 

3.  As  Christ's  crucified  body,  after  death,  was 
buried  in  a  grave,  so  I  not  only  "  killed  the  body 
of  sin,"  but  laid  it  deeply  in  the  grave  of  a  par- 
doned and  forgotten  past,  rolled  upon  it  a  big 
stone  of  eternal  loathing  for  sin,  sealed  it  with  a 
firm  resolve  that  it  shall  never  more  arise,  and  set 
about  it  a  guard  of  watchfulness  and  prayer,  "lest 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  235 

sin  revive  and  I  perish."  I  am  crucified,  dead, 
"•buried  with  him,"  "baptized  into  his  death." 

4.  As  Christ  arose  from  the  grave  with  a 
changed,  resurrected,  spiritualized  body,  saying, 
"Behold,  I  live,"  so  I  have  emerged  from  the 
debris  of  my  death  and  the  grave,  "  a  neio  creature 
in  Christ  Jesus."  Hence,  Paul  says  of  the  regen- 
erate Christian:  "Ye  were  also  circumcised  with 
a  circumcision  not  made  with  hands,  in  the  put- 
ting ofi*  of  the  body  of  the  flesh,  in  the  circum- 
cision of  Christ;  having  been  buried  with  him  in 
baptism,  wherein  ye  were  also  raised  ivith  him 
through  faith  in  the  ivor^king  of  God,  who  raised 
him  from  the  dead''  (R.  V.,  Col.  2:  11,  12).  "We 
were  buried  therefore  with  him  through  baptism 
into  death:  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from 
the  dead  through  the  glory  of  the  Father,  so  we 
also  might  walk  in  newness  of  life  "  (E,.  Y.,  Rom. 
6:  4).  Can  anything  be  more  expressive  of  the 
new  birth? 

There  is  a  passage  in  I.  Cor.  15 :  29  which,  after 
receiving  a  multitude  of  conflicting  interpreta- 
tions, is  nevertheless  difficult  to  solve  satisfac- 
torily: "Else  what  shall  they  do  which  are 
baptized  for  the  dead,  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  all? 
why  are  they  then  baptized  for  the  dead?  "  ^  Alford 

1.  See  an  article  on  "Baptism  for  the  Dead,"  in  American  Church  Review 
(Episcopal),  October,  1884,  by  Rev.  Arthur  Little. 


236        THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

thinks  there  is  in  this  passage  an  allusion  to  a 
practice  at  Corinth  of  baptizing  a  living  person 
in  behalf  of  a  friend  who  died  unbaptized,  which 
Paul  used  as  an  argument  ad  hominem,  without 
sanctioning  its  practice.  We  have  no  record, 
however,  that  such  a  practice  ever  existed  in 
Corinth,  but  we  know  that  it  now  prevails  among 
the  disciples  of  Joseph  Smith.  This  Mormon 
prophet  claimed  to  have  solved  two  perplexing 
passages, — I.  Peter  3:  19  and  I.  Cor.  15:  29, —  and 
upon  them  built  a  doctrine  of  second  probation 
after  death,  so  that  all  men  who  died  without 
hearing  his  gospel  in  this  life,  might,  in  the  region 
beyond  the  grave  as  "spirits  in  prison,"  avail 
themselves  of  final  salvation  through  repentance, 
and  faith,  and  baptism ;  and  as  baptism  cannot  be 
administered  to  the  departed,  Mormanism  allows 
one  in  the  flesh  to  act  as  proxy  for  the  penitent 
and  believing  spirit,  by  receiving  baptism  in  his 
behalf.  This  is  the  one  "baptized  for  the  dead." 
But  all  scripture  teaching  is  against  such  inter- 
pretation of  this  obscure  passage. 

The  most  probable  sense  of  the  passage  is  that 
given  by  Bengel,  in  his  "Gnomon":  "For  they 
are  baptized  for  the  dead  who  receive  baptism  and 
profess  Christianity  at  that  time,  when  they  have 
set  death  before  their  eyes,  who  are  likely  every 


TilE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  237 

moment  to  he  added  to  the  general  mass  of  the  dead, 
either  on  account  of  the  decrepitude  of  age,  or 
disease,  or  pestilence,  or  by  martyrdom."  It  is 
known  that  many  in  the  ancient  Church  put  off 
baptism  till  near  death,  and  that  many  primitive 
Christians,  on  account  of  their  profession  of 
faith,  were  daily  exposed  to  peril  and  martyrdom. 
Hence,  they  often  were  baptized  with  death  star- 
ing them  in  the  face. 

l!Tow,  Paul's  argument  is,  that  as  baptism  was 
not  only  a  symbol  of  death  unto  sin,  but  also  of  a 
resurrection  after  death,  what  shall  the  baptized 
do,  if  in  the  future  the  dead  rise  not,  but  sleep 
eternally,  without  an  awakening  or  resurrection? 
"Would  not  all  their  hopes  be  disappointed,  their 
faith  vain?  For  every  Christian  who  was  bap- 
tized and  died  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  also  died  in 
the  faith  of  the  resurrection.  There  could  be  no 
reward,  then,  either  for  the  future  or  the  past,  if 
they  denied  a  resurrection. 

If  "baptized  for  the  dead"  has  no  reference 
here  to  moral  death,  it  evidently  is  used  in  an- 
tithesis to  a  literal  resurrection,  which  is  also 
adumbrated  in  baptism,  as  well  as  a  moral  resur- 
rection is  taught  in  Colossians  2:  12.  We  are 
baptized  in  a  realization  of  the  new  life  in  Christ, 
and  the  anticipation  of  an  immortality  vouch- 


238         THE   DOCTRIKE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

safed  to  every  one  that  believetla,  wlio  "though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live." 

But  while  immersion  corresponds  with  the  idea 
of  a  burying  and  rising,  and  may  find  a  mode  in 
this  analogy  of  the  import  of  baptism,  it  can,  by 
no  means,  find  in  it  the  mode  for  all  analogies 
contained  in  the  idea  of  this  ordinance. 

Of  Paul,  and  all  truly  converted  people,  it  may 
be  said,  as  it  was  of  Christ  in  the  Apostolic 
Creed,  "Suflered  under  Pontius  Pilate  [sin];  was 
crucified,  dead,  and  buried;  the  third  day  [con- 
version] he  rose."  All  this  is  symbolized  in  the 
ordinance  of  Christian  baptism.  But  to  explain 
the  figurative  language  of  Paul  in  Rom.  6:  3,  4 
and  Col.  2 :  12,  as  a  proof  of  an  unvariable  mode 
of  immersion,  is  not  only  untenable,  but  perver- 
sive of  its  plain  and  true  meaning. 

3.  "Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon 
you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean :  from  all  your  filthi- 
ness,  and  from  all  your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you  " 
(Ezek.  36:  25).  "So  shall  he  sprinkle  many  na- 
tions" (Isa.  52:  15;  also,  Psa.  51:  7;  Heb.  9:  13; 
10:  22). 

Passages  like  the  above  are  often  quoted  as 
proof- texts  in  favor  of  the  sprinkling  method, 
because  this  mode  is  so  often  spoken  of  as  repre- 
senting the  spiritual  benefits  signified  by  baptism. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  239 

As  baptism  is  a  sign  of  the  purification  from 
sin,  and  as  the  Spirit's  influence  is  compared  to 
rain  and  the  dew  which  falls  on  the  mown  grass, 
it  is  supposed  that  the  term  sprinkling,  in  the 
above  texts,  has  special  and  intentional  reference 
to  Christian  baptism  in  the  mode  of  aspersion. 

It  is  admitted  that  under  the  Jewish  ceremonial 
law,  the  purifying  of  the  flesh  was  performed  by 
sprinkling  ashes  and  water  upon  the  vessels  and 
persons  to  be  cleansed;  that  the  blood  sacrifices 
for  sin  were  expressed  by  sprinkling;  and  that 
in  the  New  Testament  the  application  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  is  expressed  by  the  same  word. 
(I.  Peter  1:  2  and  Heb.  12:  24.)  But  it  should  be 
remembered  that  theocratical  purifications,  having 
the  same  general  import,  were  efiTected,  also,  by 
language  plainly  expressing  immersion  and  affu- 
sion. The  Jews  were  formally  absolved  from  the 
taint  of  uncleanness  by  ablutions,  both  of  the  per- 
son and  of  the  defiled  garments.  Washing  and 
bathing  are  well  known  to  have  been  the  mode  of 
many  of  their  purifications. 

But  there  is  no  logical  ground  for  making  any 
mode  of  purifying,  whether  used  in  a  literal  or 
figurative  sense,  the  equivalent  to  an  injunction 
to  employ  such  mode  in  the  ordinance  of  Chris- 
tian baptism.    As  in  "  burial "  and  ''  resurrection  " 


240         THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

we  have  a  likeness  to  immersion,  so  in  "  sprink- 
ling," we  can  see  a  beautiful  analogy  between  the 
spiritual  and  the  ritual  purifying;  but  we  are 
looking,  not  for  analogies,  but  for  precepts  that 
make  any  one  particular  mode  of  analogy  bind- 
ing. One  mode  is  about  as  expressive  of  the 
import  of  baptism  as  the  other.  We  can  combine 
all  the  ideas  peculiar  to  its  meaning,  but  not  all 
its  modi  operandi,  and  therefore  one  way  of  ob- 
serving its  ceremony  is  as  good  as  another. 

4.  "I  will  pour  water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty, 
and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground:  I  will  pour  my 
Spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  upon  thine 
oflspring"  (Isa.  44:  3).  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  afterward,  that  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit 
upon  all  flesh ;  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters 
shall  prophesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams, 
your  young  men  shall  see  visions:  and  also  upon 
the  servants  and  upon  the  handmaids  in  those 
days  will  I  pour  out  my  Spirit"  (Joel  2:  28,  29). 

These  passages  are  figurative  representations  of 
spiritual  baptism  received  from  Jewish  ablutions, 
and  do  not  have  any  reference  to  Christian  bap- 
tism in  the  mode  of  pouring.  Isaiah,  no  doubt, 
had  in  mind  the  time  when  God  will  satisfy  those 
who  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  with 
living  water,  and  the  abundant  influence  of  the 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.   .  241 

Holy  Spirit,  which,  like  "floods,"  will  be  poured 
out  upon  men. 

Joel  is  prophesying  of  the  Spirit's  manifesta- 
tion in  the  times  of  the  Messiah,  when  it  should 
abound  as  in  a  suspended  cloud,  and  pour  its 
showers  upon  the  sheep  of  his  fold,  the  Church, 
which  was  fulfilled  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  (Acts 
2:  17  ff.)  The  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Spirit 
is  often  expressed  by  the  anointing  of  oil  and 
the  pouring  of  water.  Kings  and  priests  were 
"anointed."  Thus  it  is  seen  that  Jewish  purifl- 
cations,  as  well  as  the  renovating  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  were  performed  in  the  various  modes 
of  sprinkling,  pouring,  ,and  dipping. 

Many  other  passages  are  brought  into  the  field 
of  discussion  on  the  question  of  mode,  such  as, 
""Washing  of  regeneration"  (Titus  3:  5),  "Except 
ye  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit"  (John  3;  5), 
"One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism"  (Eph.  4:  5), 
etc. ;  but  nowhere  is  a  plain,  undisputed,  unequiv- 
ocal precept  to  be  found  upon  the  subject.  These 
referred  to  under  our  third  sub-proposition  are 
supposed  to  imply  mode  inferentially,  and,  there- 
fore, are  inconclusive  upon  the  point  we  are  dis- 
cussing.    We  therefore  conclude  that  Modalism 

CANNOT  BE  PROVED  BY  ANY  PRECEPT  OR  TEACHING  OP 

THE    SACRED    SCRIPTURES. 
16 


242         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

We  have  about  completed  tlie  circle  of  our  dis- 
cussion on  "Mode  of  Baptism."  The  triplet  of 
the  foregoing  sub-proposition  forms  the  comple- 
ment of  our  argument,  and  are  the  constituents 
of  our  main  proposition. 

Finally,  we  feel  sure  that,  when  we  go  to  the 
sacred  Scriptures  to  learn  the  true  mode  of  bap- 
tism; when  we,  unprejudiced,  seek  for  some  in- 
struction upon  the  debated  question;  when  we 
examine  any  or  all  the  baptisms  recorded  in  the 
Bible;  and  when  we  investigate  the  word  baptize 
in  its  history  and  use,  we  can  learn  nothing  defi- 
nite, nothing  that  will  warrant  us  to  formulate  or 
adopt  a  doctrine  of  uniform  mode,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  other  modes,  and  make  it  binding  upon 
others.  When  several  modes  are  possible,  and 
no  election,  or  even  preference,  made  of  either  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  we  are  at  liberty  to  choose  ac- 
cording to  our  own  understanding  or  convenience, 
and  are  to  accord  to  every  other  person  the  same 
liberty  of  conscience.  !N'o  controversy  has  been 
more  prolonged,  or  more  evenly  balanced  by 
counter-arguments  from  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion, than  that  of  modal  baptism;  because  no 
other  creed  receives  so  little  support  from  the 
sacred  Scriptures;  and  it  were  time  that  combat- 
ants would  retire  from  the  contest,  and  engage  in 
some  more  fruitful  field  of  labor. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  243 

Our  attack  has  been  upon  a  poorly  constructed 
doctrine  —  a  conclusion  built  upon  three  feeble 
pillars  of  support;  namely,  that  modalism  is  im- 
plied in  the  word  baptize,  that  it  can  be  shown  in 
the  recorded  baptisms  of  the  [N'ew  Testament, 
and  that  it  is  enjoined  in  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
These  three  premises  we  claim  to  be  erroneous, 
and  void  of  any  proof,  and  therefore  are  not  to 
be  accepted  until  some  better  proof  be  advanced 
than  has  hitherto  been  brought  into  the  field  of 
discussion.  This  triangular  view  of  the  subject 
covers  the  arena  of  controversy.  Modern  research 
and  discovery  have  developed  nothing  new  in  favor 
of  modalism,  but  much  against  it;  and  adherence 
to  its  dogmatism  may  continue,  but  argumenta- 
tive support  must  and  will  decline. 

Our  main  proposition,  that  sckipture  nowhere 

TEACHES,  either  BY  PHRASEOLOGY,  EXAMPLE,  OR  PRE- 
CEPT,   THAT    THERE    IS    ONLY    ONE    MODE    OF    BAPTISM, 

must  stand  as  the  only  true  position  on  mode  of 
baptism.  It  is  rather  a  focal  concentration  of  the 
elements  of  destruction,  which,  when  applied  as  an 
explosive  to  the  foundation  of  modalism,  will  shat- 
ter and  wreck  the  whole  structure  of  its  theory. 

The  nature  of  our  attitude  toward  modal  bap- 
tism is  one  of  negation  and  protest.  The  burden 
of  our  discussion  is  a  disproving  of  what  we  claim 


244         THE   DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

to  be  an  unscriptural  dogma;  and  by  applying  to 
it  the  principles  of  destructive  criticism,  we  have 
jproved  that  it  cannot  be  proved;  and,  therefore, 
leave  the  subject  of  mode,  where  it  always  was,  a 
matter  of  voluntary  selection  in  actual  practice, 
as  being  most  in  harmony  with  the  Scriptures;  and 
for  this  reason  we  have  defended,  as  thoroughly 
scriptural,  an  article  of  confession,  which  says  in 
respect  to  baptism,  "The  manner  [or  mode]  of 
which  ought  always  to  be  left  to  the  judgment 
and  understanding  of  every  individual." 

This  is  a  rule  which  should  be  unanimously  and 
universally  accepted  by  the  Christian  Church, 
until  some  one  can  show  us,  by  unanswwable 
scriptural  argument,  that  there  is  only  one  man- 
ner of  baptizing  the  nations.  All  such  efforts 
thus  far  have  been  failures,  and  all  hypotheses 
laid  down,  and  principles  assumed  in  its  favor, 
are  full  of  uncertainties,  fallacies,  and  fancies. 

"Don't  tell  me  of  your  doubts,"  says  Goethe, 
"tell  me  rather  ivhat  you  knoio  is  true," 

"Learn  well  to  know  how  much  need  not  be  known; 
Our  needful  knowledge,  like  our  needful  food, 
Unhedged,  lies  open  in  life's  common  field." 

—  Young,  in  Night  Thoughts. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  245 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

ADDITIONAL   REMARKS   UPON   MODE. 

An  historical  development  of  the  mode  of 
baptism  is  in  harmony  with  the  scriptural  devel- 
opment. 

However  differently  people  may  interpret  the 
Bible,  and  practice  their  convictions  derived 
therefrom,  as  touching  the  mode  of  baptism,  we 
know  that,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  the 
present  time,  no  strictly  uniform  mode  was  ever 
adopted  or  practiced  by  the  Church  universal. 
It  seems  that  Christian  teachers  always  diflered, 
and  always  will  differ,  in  opinion  upon  this 
subject. 

We  admit  that  immersion,  according  to  the 
most  eminent  historical  authority,  was  the  usual 
and  prevalent  mode  in  the  ancient  Church;  but 
by  no  means  was  it  universally  and  unexception- 
ally  practiced. 

]N"eander,  in  his  "History  of  the  Christian 
Church,"  vol.  I.,  p.  310,  says,  "In  respect  to  the 
form  of  baptism,  it  was  in  conformity  with  the 
original  institution  and  the  original  import  of 


L. 


246         THE    DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

the  s^^mbol,  performed  by  immersion,  as  a  sign 
of  entire  baptism  into  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  being 
entirely  penetrated  by  the  same.  It  was  only 
with  the  sick,  where  the  necessity  required  it, 
that  any  exception  was  made;  in  this  case  bap- 
tism was  administered  by  aflusion  or  sprinkling." 

Mr.  William  Hall,  who  wrote  against  the  -Bap- 
tist the  best  historical  vindication  of  infant 
baptism,  says  in  his  history,  vol.  II.,  p.  297,  that 
in  the  ancient  Church  the  "general  and  ordinary 
way  was  to  baptize  by  immersion,  or  dipping  the 
person,  whether  it  were  an  infant  or  grown  man 
or  woman,  into  water." 

Dean  Stanley,  who  is  an  advocate  of  sprink- 
ling, in  "  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Eastern 
Church,"  p.  117,  also  testifies  that  for  centuries 
the  usual  mode  was  immersion,  sprinkling  being 
resorted  to  only  as  exceptional,  almost  monstrous, 
cases;  while  Wharton  B.  Marriott  says:^  "Triple 
immersion,  that  is,  thrice  dipping  the  head  while 
standing  in  the  water,  was  the  all  but  universal 
rule  of  the  Church  in  early  times.  Of  this,  we 
find  proof  in  Africa,  in  Palestine,  in  Egypt,  in 
Antioch,  in  Constantinople,  and  in  Cappadocia. 
Eor  the  Roman  usage,  Tertullian  indirectly  wit- 
nesses in  the  second  century;  St.  Jerome  in  the 

1.  "  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities,"  vol.  I.,  p.  161. 


THE   MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  247 

fourth;  Leo  the  Great  in  the  fifth;  and  Pope 
Pelagius  and  St.  Gregory  the  Great  in  the  sixth. 
Lastly,  the  apostolic  canons,  so-called,  alike  in 
Greek,  the  Coptic,  and  the  Latin  versions,  give 
special  injunctions  as  to  this  observance,  saying 
that  any  bishop  or  presbyter  should  be  deposed 
who  violated  this  rule." 

Prof  Bapheidos,  in  his  "  Church  History,"  re- 
cently published  in  Europe,  describes  the  ancient 
mode  as  a  "threefold  immersion  (submersion) 
and  emersion,  or  descent  into  and  ascent  from 
the  water,"  and-  restricts  aspersion  to  "cases  of 
-sickness." 

Many  such  statements  might  be  cited  from 
Church  historians,  all  of  which  testify  to  the  use 
of  both  modes,  giving,  however,  to  immersion  a 
pre-eminent  preference. 

Trine  immersion  and  emersion  was  not  only  the 
general  practice  of  the  ancient  Church,  but  at 
present  prevails  in  all  the  Eastern  churches,  and 
in  the  State  Church  of  Russia,  while  sprinkling 
prevails  in  the  Western  churches.  The  Byzantine 
Empire  absolutely  repudiates  and  ignores  every 
other  mode  except  immersion  as  essentially  in- 
valid, while  the  Church  of  England  still  requires 
all,  except  unhealthy  subjects  of  baptism,  to  be 
dipped  in  water. 


248         THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

Dr.  "Washburn,  of  Eobert  College,  Constanti- 
nople, stated  recently,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Philip 
Schaff,  of  New  York,  that  "  the  orthodox  author- 
ities here  declare  that  no  Oriental  Church,  not 
under  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant  influence, 
knows  any  other  baptism  than  trine  immersion. 
When  hard  pressed,  they  add  'except  in  cases  of 
necessity/  but  I  could  not  get  them  to  acknowledge 
any  other  necessity  than  lack  of  water J^  There  is 
not  wanting  evidence  that  the  mode  of  adminis- 
tering the  ordinance  throughout  the  East  is  by 
immersion,  or,  at  least,  by  trine  affusion  over  the 
head,  while  the  catechumen  is  seated  or  stands  in 
water  up  to  the  elbows.  All  the  Syrian  forms 
prescribe  or  assume  trine  immersion  and  emersion ; 
exceptional  cases  exist,  but  only  in  rare  instanceSj 
of  scarcity  of  water  or  ill-health  of  the  subject. 
[  History,  then,  makes  clear  this  fact,  that  in  the 
early  Church  immersion  was  the  rule,  while  pouring 
or  sjmyikling  was  the  exception. 

Occasionally  do  we  read  from  the  Christian 
fathers,  incidentally  recorded,  such  remarlA  as, 
"A  little  before  he  suffered,  he  baptized  one  of 
his  executors  with  a  pitcher  of  water  J'  Clinic^ 
baptism  was  evidently  a  matter  of  frequent  occur- 

1.  K7uvtK6Ci  klinikos,  bed-ridden,  from  kVivtj,  Mine,  conch;  Kliveiv,  klinein, 
to  recline.  Hence,  clinic  baptisms  are  baptisms  of  subjects  upon  a  siclr 
bed. 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  249 

rence  in  the  early  Church.  The  Emperor  Con- 
stantine  was  baptized  by  Eusebius,  of  IN'icodemia, 
lying  in  his  bed,  clothed  in  white.  About  sixty 
or  seventy  years  after  the  apostles,  a  Jew,  while 
traveling  with  Christians,  fell  sick,  and  desired 
baptism.  ISTot  having  water,  they  sprinkled  him 
three  times  with  sand,  of  which  Dr.  Pond  says, 
that  his  case  was  reported  to  the  bishop,  who  de- 
cided that  the  man  was  baptized,  if  only  he  had 
water  poured  on  him  again. 

In  Eouth's  "  Eeliquiae  Sacrae,"  vol.  III.,  p.  48, 
occurs  a  passage  from  Mcephorus:  "So  that  he, 
expecting  to  die,  asked  to  receive  water  (i.  e.,  bap- 
tism) ;  and  he  baptized  him  upon  his  couch  upon 
which  he  lay."  Clement  of  Alexandria  says, 
"  This  is  the  custom  of  the  Jews  to  baptize  upon 
the  couch " ;  and  Hilarius  says,  on  I.  Tim.  12 :  13, 
"  There  are  not  wanting  almost  daily  sick  persons 
who  are  to  be  baptized." 

But  a  change  took  place.  After  the  thirteenth 
century,  under  the  influence  of  Thomas  Aquinas, 
the  practice  of  mode  became  almost  reversed. 
The  exception  became  the  rule,  and  the  rule  be- 
came the  exception.  Immersion  fell  into  disuse, 
and  sprinkling  took  its  place. 

In  the  second  prayer  book  of  King  Edward  YL 
(1552),  permission  is  given,  for  the  first  time  in 


250         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

Great  Britain,  to  substitute  pouring,  if  the  god- 
father or  godmother  testify  that  the  child  is  weak. 
Presently,  the  sprinkling  mode  gained  pre-emi- 
nence by  the  authority  of  Calvin,  who  taught 
that  mode  was  a  matter  of  no  importance,  and  by 
the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines  (1643-1652), 
which  decided,  by  a  close  vote  of  twenty-five  to 
twenty-four,  in  favor  of  sprinkling,  as  more  proper 
than  immersion. 

It  was  not  until  the  seventeenth  century  that 
the  English  Baptists  first  declared  immersion  es- 
sential.^ Formerly,  they  allowed  other  modes  of 
administering  the  sacrament. 

John  Smyth,  the  founder  of  Arminian  Bap- 
tists, baptized  himself,  and  then  his  followers,  by 
aflusion. 

"  Barclay,  as  c^uoted  by  Dexter,  p.  318  sq.,  says 
that  the  practice  of  immersion  *  seems  to  have 
been  introduced  into  England  [i.  e.,  among  the 
Baptists]  12  September,  1633.'  This  was  then 
called  'a  new  baptism'  by  the  Baptists;  *a  new 
crotchet'  by  their  opponents.  Featly,  in  his 
Dippers  Dijyt  (1645,  p.  187,  quoted  by  Dexter, 
1.  c),  criticises  the  Anabaptist  confession  of  1644 
as  'wholly  soured  with   the   neiv  leaven'  of  im- 


1.  See  SchafTs  "Creed  of  Christianity,"  vol.  III.,  p.  741. 

2.  Schaff's  "The  Oldest  Church  Manual,"  p.  54. 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  251 

This,  then,  is  a  well  authenticated  conclusion, 
that  for  the  first  thirteen  centuries  baptism  was 
usually  administered  by  single  or  trine  immersion, 
but  with  a  large  margin  for  freedom  as  to  the 
mode  of  its  applications;  afterwards  affusion  or 
pouring,  which  was  at  first  the  exceptional  mode, 
came  gradually  into  general  use  in  all  the  Prot- 
estant churches,  while  immersion  became  the 
exceptional  practice,  except  among  Baptists,  who, 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  returned  to  im- 
mersion. But  we  have  a  yet  stronger  historical 
evidence  in  favor  of  liberalism,  in  the  testimony 
of  the  recently  discovered  manuscript  by  Bishop 
Philotheos  Bryennios,  in  the  library  of  the  Most 
Holy  Sepulcher,  in  Phanar,  of  Constantinople. 

This  document,  popularly  known  as  "  The  Teach- 
ings of  the  Twelve  Apostles,''  is  one  of  the  rarest 
treasures  of  ancient  Christian  literature,  and  is  es- 
pecially valuable  for  the  additional  light  it  throws 
upon  the  custom  that  prevailed  concerning  the 
mode  of  administering  the  ordinance  of  baptism 
in  the  post-apostolic  age.  After  some  years  of 
the  most  learned  and  critical  scrutiny,  the  evidence 
of  its  genuineness  and  antiquity  has  become  over- 
whelming, and  there  is  now  no  difference  of 
opinion  among  the  large  majority  of  scholars  in 
England,  Germany,  France,  and  America  respect- 


252         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.    ^ 

ing  the  authenticity  and  age  of  this  Didache,  It 
was  probably  written  by  some  Jewish  Christian, 
in  Egypt,  and  dates  back,  probably,  as  far  as  the 
end  of  the  first  century,  and  no  later  than 
the  middle  of  the  second;  and  is,  therefore,  the 
oldest  extant  Church  manuscript  known  at  the 
present  day. 

This  manuscript  is  the  first  testimony,  in  point 
of  time,  for  the  validity  of  all  modes,  and  contains 
the  first  allusion  in  Church  literature  of  a  lawful 
departure  from  the  original  and  usual  mode  of 
baptism.  In  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  Didache 
is  recorded  the  following : 

"And  concerning  baptism,  thus  baptize  ye: 
Having  first  said  all  these  things  (concerning  the 
Way  of  Life  and  the  Way  of  Death),  baptize  into 
the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  living  water.  But  if  thou  have 
not  living  water,  baptize  into  other  water;  and 
if  thou  canst  not  in  cold,  in  warm.  But  if  thou 
have  not  either,  pour  out  water  thrice  upon  the 
head  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  Son  and 
Holy  Spirit."! 

The  candidate  was  to  be  baptized  in  "living 
water";  that  is,  water  as  of  a  river,  stream,  lake, 
well,  or  fountain.     If  living  water  could  not  be 

1.  Translation  by  Dr.  I.  H.  Hall. 


THE  MODE   OF  BAPTISM.  253 

found,  then  into  "other  water";  first  choice  is 
to  be  "cold"  water  in  pools  or  cisterns;  second 
choice,  as  in  the  absence  of  cold,  in  "warm" 
water,  in  private  baths  in  the  house,  as  in  cases 
of  invalids  or  inclemency  of  the  climate.  But  if 
water  enough  for  this  could  not  be  had,  then  it 
was  sufficient  to  pour  water  over  the  head  three 
times. 

This  latter  alternative  does  not  enjoin  some- 
thing else  than  baptism  in  the  way  of  a  substitute 
for  baptism,  as  the  Baptists  interpret  it.     The 
sense  is  not,  "Baptize  where  you  can;  where  you 
cannot,  pour  water  three  times  on  the  head  as  the 
next  best  thing  to  baptism";  but  the  evident  in- 
terpretation is,  "Baptize  by  immersion  where  you 
can;  baptize  by  affusion  where  you  cannot."    This 
last  method  is  called  baptism,  as  well  as  the  ordi- 
nary mode,  without  contrast;  for  it  is  immediately 
after  mentioning  this  mode  by  affusion  that  the 
document  proceeds,  "Before  baptism,  let  the  bap- 
tizer  and  the  baptized  fast,"  implying  that  both 
modes  are  one  baptism.     The  words,  "  But  if  thou 
have  ^not  either,  pour  out  water  thrice  upon  the 
head,"  is   a  substitute  for  the  general  mode  of 
the  sacrament,  and  not  a  substitute  for  the  sae- 
rament  itself. 

The  Baptists  may  triumphantly  point  to  this 


254         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

most  ancient  document  for  a  proof  of  immersion 
as  the  ruling  mode,  and  rejoice  in  its  absence  of 
any  allusion  to  infant  baptism;  but  they  must, 
upon  the  clear  testimony  of  so  genuine  a  witness 
alone,  abandon  their  long  cherished  theory,  that 
immersion  was  the  only  mode  practiced  in  the 
ancient  Church. 

Prof.  R  D.  Hitchcock,  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  !N'ew  York,  regards  the  baptism  in  the 
Didache  as  all  by  affusion,  the  candidate  standing 
ankle  deep  in  the  water,  when  it  could  be  ob- 
tained, as  is  represented  in  the  catacomb  of  St. 
Callistus,  and  as  in  the  Syrian  mode  down  to  the 
present  day.  This,  however,  is  assuming  unwar- 
ranted license  of  interpretation.  The  text  of  the 
"teaching"  does  not  define  the  ordinary  method 
of  baptism,  but  only  describes  the  exceptional 
affusion  in  case  of  a  lack  of  water. 

There  is  an  almost  unanimous  assent  that  the 
established  mode  mentioned  in  Chapter  YIL,  of 
manuscript,  was  immersion;  but  there  is  much 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  this  was  siiigle 
or  trine  immersion.  Though  "thrice"  is  only 
mentioned  in  connection  with  pouring,  it  is  a 
question  whether  or  not  it  should  be  understood 
or  supplied  in  the  normal  form  of  immersion, 
since  we  learn  from  other  historical  sources  that 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  255 

often  baptism  consisted  of  a  triple  immersion  and 
emersion.  The  question  is  of  little  importance, 
for  the  number  of  plunges,  like  the  kind  of  mode, 
is  a  privilege  founded  on  individual  preference, 
and  not  on  Divine  authority.  The  Didache  inter- 
ests us  only  as  a  faithful  historical  record  of  the 
thought  and  practice  of  the  ancient  Church.  It 
does  not  claim  apostolic  and  inspired  authority, 
and  is,  therefore,  subordinate  to  the  testimony  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures. 

The  service  which  this  document  renders  in  the 
polemics  of  baptism,  consists  in  the  newly  discov- 
ered testimony,  that  at  the  end  of  the  first  century, 
there  was  no  rigid  uniformity  in  regard  to  mode 
of  baptism,  and  no  scruples  about  the  validity  of 
aspersion;  and  there  is  abundant  historical  evi- 
dence, that  the  ordinary  practice  of  the  early 
Church  in  the  subsequent  centuries,  was  in  har- 
mony with  what  this  chapter  of  the  "teaching" 
expresses;  namely,  submersion,  cmteris  ^paribus,  as 
the  regular  and  established  mode  in  the  recorded 
symbolism  of  this  ordinance,  but  also  sanctions 
affusion  as  equally  valid  in  the  absence  of  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  water. 

The  first  case  of  pouring  on  record  is  that  of 
iTovatian,  in  the  early  part  of  the  third  century, 
who  received  it  on  a  sick  bed,  at  the  very  point  of 


256         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

death.  Cyprian,  in  his  epistle  to  Magnus,  written 
about  A.  D.  250,  which,  until  the  discovery  of  the 
Bryennios  manuscript,  was  considered  the  oldest 
historic  record  of  the  use  of  affusion,  argues,  at 
great  length,  the  question,  whether  clinic  baptism 
by  pouring  was  valid,  and  finally  concluded  that 
it  was  allowable,  in  case  of  necessity,  on  the 
ground  of  right  intention.  Cyprian  seems  to 
have  known  no  other  baptism  than  complete 
immersion,  and  had  never  heard  of  the  "  Teach- 
ings of  the  Twelve  Apostles."  The  Bryennios 
manuscript  and  the  Cyprian  epistle,  the  two  most 
ancient  documents,  then,  both  sanction  affusion, 
not  as  the  ordinary,  but  as  the  exceptional,  mode 
during  the  first  and  third  centuries,  and  give  no 
support  to  the  theory  of  a  rigidly  uniform  mode 
of  baptism. 

"From  this  fact  (viz.,  liberty  of  practice)  we 
may  reason  (a  fortiori)  that  the  same  freedom 
existed  already  in  the  apostolic  age.  It  cannot 
be  supposed  that  the  twelve  apostles  were  less 
liberal  than  the  writer  of  the  Didache,  who  wrote, 
as  it  were,  in  their  name,"  ^ 

But  even  if  it  were  evident  that  in  the  primi- 
tive or  any  subsequent  period  of  the  Church,  any 
certain  mode  had  been  considered  essential,  and, 

1.  Dr.  SchaflTs  "Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  p.  34. 


THE   MODE   OP   BAPTISM.  257 

therefore,  uniformly  practiced,  would  that  be  any- 
thing in  favor  of  such  a  mode  as  binding,  unless 
enjoined  especially  by  the  sacred  Scriptures? 

Doctrine,  in  the  hands  of  fallible  men,  often 
becomes  corrupt,  so  that  we  must  look  to  the 
Bible,  and  not  to  history,  for  a  true  testimony. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  to  the  ordinary 
mode  of  immersion,  the  early  Church  added  many 
ceremonies  and  efficacies  not  warranted  anywhere 
in  the  Scriptures.  They  attached  to  it  a  regener- 
ating influence.  They  consecrated  the  water,  and 
connected  exorcism  with  the  rite;  then  added 
trine  immersion  and  emersion,  in  reference  to 
the  trinity  ;  putting  salt  on  the  tongue  ;  blowing 
upon  the  face ;  anointing  the  eyes,  ears,  and  mouth 
with  spittle;  marking  with  the  sign  of  the  cross; 
clothing  in  a  white  robe,  and  anointing  with  oil. 
Yea,  more,  from  their  conception  of  regeneration 
as  being  the  ''putting  oft*  the  old  man,"  they 
actually  stripped  all  candidates  for  baptism  of  all 
clothing,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  baptized 
them  in  a  nude  state,  though  in  separate  depart- 
ments of  the  baptisteries.  Dr.  Miller,  in  com- 
menting upon  the  indecency  of  such  scenes,  says, 
"  We  have  the  same  evidence  (to-wit,  from  history) 
in  favor  of  immersing  divested  of  all  clothing, 
that  we  have  for  immersion  at  all."     !N^o  doubt, 

17 


258         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

these  early  fathers,  like  many  modern  theorists, 
based  their  custom  upon  some  unfounded  script- 
ural interpretation  and  inference,  until  they  ran 
into  extremes  by  actually  turning  a  holy  ordi- 
nance into  a  demoralizing  spectacle.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  standard  usages  of  various 
ages  of  the  Church,  we  must  always  go  back  to  the 
divine  Word  to  correct  our  theory,  and  to  learn 
what  should  be  the  true  doctrine  of  our  faith. 

The  evidence  afforded  by  the  Bryennios  manu- 
script does  not  decide  the  question  of  mode,  but 
it  does  settle  the  question,  "Was  there  a  uniform 
mode  in  the  apostolic  Church?"  It  will  never  do 
to  repudiate  this  ancient  testimony,  and  fall  back 
on  the  meaning  of  the  word  haptizo.  It  is  rather 
a  question  of  the  meaning  of  this  New  Testament 
word. 

Another  corroborative  testimony  in  favor  of 
liberalism,  or  non-uniformity  of  mode,  is  found 
in  Christian  art.  Various  representations  of 
baptism,  extending  from  the  second  to  the  sev- 
enth century,  are  found  in  the  Roman  catacombs, 
which  indicate  immersions,  total  or  partial,  and 
affusions. 

These  baptismal  pictures,  as  Dr.  Schaff  says, 
"  can  only  exhibit  the  beginning  or  the  end  of  the 
act,  not  the  entire  process'';  and  from  the  repre- 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  259 

sentation  of  a  momeiitaiy  glimpse,  we  are  left 
to  supply,  by  evident  inference,  the  rest  of  the 
transaction. 

On  the  walls  of  the  crypt  of  Lucina,  the  oldest 
part  of  the  catacomb  of  St.  Callistus,  is  a  picture, 
assigned  to  a  date  prior  to  the  close  of  the  second 
century,  in  which  a  man,  in  a  nude  state,  is  step- 
ping up  from  the  water,  with  his  hands  joined  to 
the  hand  extended  him  by  another  man,  who,  clad 
in  a  tunic,  stands  on  a  bank  or  shore.  This  seems 
to  indicate  the  closing  scene  of  an  immersion, 
otherwise  standing  in  the  water  would  be  without 
meaning,  and  the  nakedness  a  superfluous  inde- 
cency. 

A  Mosaic  in  Ravenna,  referred  to  about  A.  D. 
450,  is  supposed  to  represent  the  baptism  of 
Christ,  who  stands  in  the  Jordan,  with  the  water 
up  to  his  waist,  while  John,  from  a  rock  project- 
ing from  the  bank,  pours  water  upon  the  head  of 
Christ  from  a  shell  which  he  holds  in  his  right 
hand,  while  a  dove  descends  directly  upon  Him. 
This  is  no  reliable  authority  of  the  mode  of 
Christ's  baptism,  but  it  is  useful  as  a  represen- 
tation of  the  Christians'  notion  of  his  baptism, 
drawn,  no  doubt,  from  a  custom  of  their  day,  and 
erroneously  making  it  the  criterion  of  what  they 
believed  to  have  been  the  custom  in  Christ's  day. 


260         THE    DOCTRINE    OF    CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

This  indicates  that  afiasion  was  practiced  in  the 
fifth  century. 

Another  picture  in  the  catacomb  of  St.  Callistus 
is  that  of  a  boy  standing  in  water  a  little  above 
ankle  depth,  and  surrounded  by  sprays  of  water, 
as  in  a  shower  bath,  which  is  thrown  profusely 
around  the  body  and  above  the  head.  A  man, 
in  a -sitting  posture,  at  one  end  of  the  picture,  is 
drawing  a  fish  from  the  water.  This  was  virtually 
an  immersion.  De  Rossi  calls  it  a  "  slight  immer- 
sion" {poca  immersione),  while  Garrucci  speaks  of 
the  boy  as  "  entirely  immersed  in  a  cloud  of  water." 
The  Jish  was  a  favorite  symbol  of  Christ  on  the 
ancient  tombs,  and  was  used  as  a  convenient 
epigrammatic  confession,  and  naturally  became 
associated  with  the  water  of  baptism ;  and  so  Ter- 
tullian  (De  Bapt.,  Chap.  I.)  says,  "But  we  little 
fishes,  after  the  example  of  our  Fish,  Jesus  Christ, 
are  born  in  water."  The  drawing  out  of  a  fish 
from  the  water,  as  represented  in  this  picture  of 
baptism,  is  in  harmony  with  the  epitaph  on  the 

/    ,  recently  discovered  tomb  of  Aberipus,  found  by 

'^  Mr.  Ramsey,  in  Asia  Minor: 

wvW     "^j        ^    "At  every  place  the  Fish,  exceeding  great 
\I_jjJLa>^^  \     And  clean,  drawn  from  the  fountain." 

'   ^hese  three  pictures  of  baptism  are  representa- 
tive of  all  the  others  in  ancient  Christian  art  on 


THE    MODE    OF   BAPTISM.  261 

this  subject,  and  they  suffice  to  reveal  the  Chris- 
tian spirit  and  practice  in  the  first  five  or  six 
centuries;  namely,  that  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness and  primitive  tradition  admitted  liberty  in 
respect  to  mode;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  their 
interpretation  of  the  rite  of  baptism  was  a  mis- 
understanding or  willful  misinterpretation  of  the 
apostolic  teaching.  At  least,  the  testimony  of 
the  catacombs  concurs  with  the  testimony  of  the 
"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles "  on  the  doc- 
trine of  Christian  liberty,  a  right  of  variation  in 
mode. 

From  a  study  of  history  and  art,  we  must  con- 
clude, then,  that  the  ordinary  practice  in  the  early 
Church  was  essentially  what  the  Didache  indi- 
cates, namely,  immersion,  but  that  it  was  not  the 
only  recognized  mode.  We  fully  accept  the  fol- 
lowing teaching  of  Garrucci,  in  "  Teorica"  (op.  cit. 
1:  27,  28):  "Most  ancient  and  especially  estab- 
lished was  the  rite  of  immersing  the  person 
in  the  water,  and  three  times  the  head  also,  while 
the  ministrant  pronounced  the  three  names ;  it  is 
not,  however,  to  be  believed  that  baptism  never 
took  place  otherwise,  because  when,  for  the  occa- 
sion, either  the  amount  of  water  requisite  for 
immersion  or  the  capacity  of  the  vessel  was  in- 
sufficient, or  when  the  condition  of  the  catechu- 


262         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

men  was  such  that  it  would  have  been  dangerous 
for  him  to  be  entirely  plunged  in  the  waters,  or  for 
some  other  weighty  motive,  there  was  a  substitu- 
tion of  the  baptism  spoken  of  as  that  of  infusion 
or  aspersion,  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  the  water 
on  the  head  of  him  who  was  receiving  baptism, 
while  he  stood  either  within  the  vessel,  which  did 
not  suffice  to  admit  him  wholly,  or  outside  of  this, 
and  upon  the  dry  ground." 

"We  do  not  claim  that  the  Didache  and  cata- 
combs decide  the  question  as  to  the  actual  mode 
practiced  by  the  apostles,  but  their  combined  tes- 
timony is  strongly  against  the  supposition  of  a 
uniform  mode  in  the  apostolic  and  post-apostolic 
Church.  "We  have  no  doubt  that  submersion  was 
practiced  from  the  beginning,  and  may  continue 
to  be  observed  until  the  end  of  time.  We  can 
say  the  same  of  aspersion  and  aftusion.  And  the 
more  men  examine  the  inspired  record,  and  consult 
history  and  art,  and  receive  neiv  light  from  recent 
\discoveries,  the  more  charitable  will  they  be  in  accord- 
ing to  every  man  the  right  of  choice  in  the  practice  of 
his  mode,  and  the  more  pronounced  will  they  be  in 
condemning  a  rigid  yoke  of  modalism. 

Since  it  must  be  patent  to  every  unbiased  stu- 
dent of  scripture  and  ecclesiastical  history  that 
God  is  no  respecter  or  dictator  of  mode,  every 


THE   MODE   OF   BAPTISM.  263 

man  may,  hence,  become  his  own  judge  and  ora- 
cle, consult  his  own  convenience,  and  gratify  his 
own  preference  in  the  manner  of  exercising  the 
sacrament  of  baptism. 

Of  all  the  modes,  immersion  is  the  least  adapted 
to  universality.  In  many  cases  it  would  be  utterly 
impossible.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  bap- 
tizing of  the  sick  in  the  early  Church;  but  w^e 
must  remember  that  there  are  now,  nearly  every 
day,  subjects  for  baptism  whose  immersion  would 
be  dangerous,  if  not  fatal.  A  large  portion  of 
our  race  are  afflicted  with  lingering  and  chronic 
diseases,  which,  for  months  and  years,  render 
them  incapable  of  being  immersed.  Often  the 
situation  renders  immersion  inconvenient  for  want 
of  sufficient  water,  or  a  suitable  place,  or  a  mild 
season  of  the  year;  and  at  best,  upon  many  per- 
sons, especially  females,  the  fear  of  the  plunge 
has  an  undevotional  tendency  by  agitating  the 
spirit,  which,  together  with  the  care  required  to 
render  the  act  decent,  often  utterly  incapacitates 
the  subject  for  the  exercise  of  proper  thoughts 
and  afiections. 

Besides,  there  is  a  large  proportion  of  the  earth's 
population  that  inhabit  polar  and  frozen  regions, 
north  of  our  own  latitude,  where  water,  unless 
very  deep,  is  generally  frozen  to  the  bottom.    Says 


264        THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

Woodbridge,  in  his  "Universal  Geography,"  page 
145,  "In  Greenland,  Lapland,  and  the  coldest 
countries  of  this  region,  brandy  and  mercury 
freeze  during  winter.  .  .  .  The  inhabitants  of 
Siberia  stop  the  openings  of  their  houses  with 
ice,  and  use  it  instead  of  glass.  The  air  when 
breathed  seems  to  pierce,  and  even  rend,  the 
lungs.  The  cup  often  freezes  to  the  lips  if  it  be 
touched  in  drinking.  .  .  .  Trees  and  beams  of 
houses  are  split  by  the  frosts,  and  rocks  are  rent 
with  a  noise  like  that  of  fire-arms."  The  gospel 
is  to  be  carried  to  all  these  frigid  regions,  but  we 
see  how  ill-adapted  to  such  people  would  be  one 
of  its  ordinances,  if  immersion  were  essential  to 
the  validity  of  gospel  baptism. 

"While  other  Protestant  sects  of  Europe  have 
extended  their  lines  far  north  into  ITorway,  Lap- 
land, and  Greenland,  the  Baptists  have  prudently 
kept  themselves  mostly  confined  within  Germany, 
the  southern  part  of  Poland,  and  some  of  the 
northern  states  of  Austria.  The  Baptists  have 
sent  out  their  missionaries  to  India,  Africa,  and 
among  the  aborigines  of  I^orth  America;  but 
we  have  never  seen  the  experiment  of  a  Baptist 
Church  rising  up  in  Labrador,  Liberia,  Greenland, 
or  Central  Russia."  ^ 

Rev.  F.  G.  Hibbard,  on  "Christian  Baptism,"  p.  150. 


The  Doctrine  of  Christian  Baptism. 


FJPS.K.T    IV. 

THE  ETHICS  OF  BAPTISM. 

265 


THE  ETHICS  OF  BIPTISM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DUTY   OF   OBSERVING   THE    SACRAMENT   OF  BAPTISM. 

Every  follower  of  Christ  should  be  baptized  at 
his  earliest  opportunity.  No  professing  Christian 
is  justifiable  for  a  willful  neglect  of  a  duty  so 
plain  and  imperative. 

In  almost  every  congregation  of  our  denomi- 
nation are  found  Christians  in  church-fellowship 
(sometimes,  not  a  few),  who  for  years,  habitually, 
live  in  an  unbaptized  state,  which  is  a  state  of  j!  ^ 
open  rebellion  to  the  will  of  God.     The  United 
Brethren  Church,  in  her  protest  against  extreme  I 
ritualism,  may  have  become  too  lax  in  a  due  esti-v? 
mate  and  enforcement  of  the  ritual  ordinances 
of  God's   house,    and,  perhaps,  emphasized  too 
strongly  the  value  of  spasmodic  efforts,  for  peri- 
odic tides  of  revival  fluxes,  at  the  expense  of  a 
faithful    and    conscientious    observance    of    the 
standing  rites  and  duties  of  the  Church,  which 
marks  the  Christian  life  as  uniform  and  blameless. 

267 


268         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

In  our  preaching  and  teaching,  unlike  Peter,  many 
of  us  have  thundered  out  the  word  "repent," 
but  whispered,  or  forgotten  entirely,  the  words, 
"  and  be  baptized,"  or  in  some  way  made  an  im- 
pression, that  the  latter  part  of  Peter's  utterance 
scarcely  merits  the  weight  of  an  injunction.  The 
highest  type  of  Christian  experience  upon  record 
is  that  of  Zechariah  and  Elizabeth  of  old,  who 
"walked  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances 
of  the  Lord  blameless.'^ 

The  many  members  of  our  communion  who  are 
derelict  in  this  duty,  namely,  baptism,  reflect  un- 
favorably upon  the  ministry  of  our  Church,  who 
in  the  past  must  have  been  delinquent  in  the 
proper  presentation  of  this  matter  to  their  people. 
A  preacher's  neglect  in  declaring  any  one  of  the 
counsels  of  God,  is  seen  in  his  hearer's  utter  dis- 
regard of  that  counsel.  "Where  a  pastor  ignores 
or  depreciates  the  sacrament  of  baptism  by  his 
habitual  silence  in  reference  to  it,  the  people  will 
have  little  conscience  upon  the  subject,  and  feel 
self-acquitted,  while  they,  ignorantly,  or  rather 
for  the  want  of  better  scriptural  instruction  from 
their  spiritual  adviser,  continue  to  live  in  a  state 
which  brings  them  under  the  daily  displeasure 
and  condemnation  of  God.  "We  do  not  teach 
that  a  Christian  who  has  never  been  baptized 


THE  ETHICS   OF  BAPTISM.  269 

cannot  be  saved, — no  more  than  a  man  who  once 
sinned  cannot  be  saved  by  subsequent  repentance 
and  acceptance  of  the  free  offers  of  grace, — but 
according  to  the  unchangeable  terms  which  re-  ^ 
quire  obedience  as  the  only  condition  of  salvation,  ' 
we  do  assert  that  no  Christian  who  lives  and  dies 
unbaptized,  after  repeated  opportunities  for  under- 
standing and  obeying  Christ's  command,  can  be 
saved,  unless  he  first  repents  of  this  sin  of  a  grievous 
omission,  and  God  graciously  forgives  him  for  will- 
fully neglecting  so  simple  and  solemn  a  duty.  ^ 

Ministers  who  are  solemnly  commissioned  to 
preach  and  to  baptize  (Matt.  28:  19),  must  not  re- 
gard the  latter  half  of  this  charge  of  our  ascended 
Lord  as  a  useless  appendage,  the  mandate  of  which 
is  to  be  observed  or  ignored  ad  libitum;  and  con- 
ceive that  their  work  is  done  when  they  have 
discipled  the  people.  They  are  also  to  baptize  all 
whom  they  convert  to  discipleship ;  and  until  they 
have  done  this,  their  high  commission  is  dese- 
crated, their  mission  unfinished,  and  their  duty 
renounced. 

Our  obligation  rests  upon  the  following  consid- 
erations : 

1.  The  nature  of  Christian  baptism  as  discussed 
in  Chapter  YI.,  Part  I.  If  its  design  is  to  pub- 
licly attest  our  faith  in  Christ,  and  accept  God's 


270         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

method  in  our  salvation,  then  such  attestation  or 
testimony  becomes  a  Christian  duty. 
J  This  appears  evident  from  the  fact  that  baptism 
is  of  the  nature  of  a  covenant.  With  Abraham 
of  old,  God  entered  into  covenant  by  passing,  as 
a  flaming  fire,  between  the  dissevered  pieces  of  a 
slaughtered  victim.  ITow,  no  more  figuratively, 
but  really,  through  the  rent  veil  and  sundered 
flesh  of  a  liedeemer's  body,  God  calls  his  saints 
to  make  with  him  a  covenant  by  baptism.  This 
covenant  is  most  solemn  in  its  nature. 

"When  two  men  enter  into  a  contract,  the  terms 
upon  which  each  agrees  to  perform  his  part  of 
the  engagement  are  clearly  stated  and  defined  in 
a  properly  executed  and  legal  form,  and  then 
signed  by  the  contracting  parties  as  a  most  solemn 
pledge  of  fidelity.  Neither  benefactor  nor  bene- 
ficiary is  bound  or  entitled  to  any  provisions  in 
the  treaty  until  both  names  are  legally  affixed 
to  the  prepared  instrument.  In  a  much  graver 
sense,  God  has  devised  and  prepared,  at  infinite 
cost,  a  general  contract,  offering  to  save  each  child 
of  Adam's  race  upon  certain  stipulated  terms, 
which  depend  on  each  man's  personal  and  indi- 
vidual acceptance  or  rejection.  This  covenant  of 
promise,  which  has  remained  unchanged  since  the 
days  of  Abraham,  states  man's  part  of  the  obli- 


THE  ETHICS   OF  BAPTISM.  271 

gation  in  the  compact,  upon  the  performance  of 
which  God  promises  him  eternal  salvation.  On 
Calvary,  He  signed  and  sealed  the  document  with 
His  blood,  and  the  stamp  of  His  atoning  oblation; 
and  now,  God  asks  every  believer,  individually, 
to  subscribe  to  his  purchased  plan  of  redemption. 
Christian,  have  you,  formally  and  publicly,  signed 
your  name  to  this  covenant?  Or,  do  you  consider 
it  no  obligation  for  you  to  indorse  God's  scheme 
of  salvation  by  the  visible  sign  of  your  autograph, 
according  to  the  manner  ordained  by  God?  It 
will  not  avail  for  you  to  say,  "  I  can  promise  and 
render  obedience  to  God  without  the  ceremony 
of  a  formal  pledge."  As  well  say,  "I  can  pay  my 
debts  without  giving  my  creditor  a  legal  voucher." 
You  may  be  honest,  but  you  are  a  nallifier  of  the 
law,  and  set  at  naught  the  legal  ordinances  recom- 
mended by  the  government  which  protects  you. 
Christian  baptism  is  heaven's  ordained  act,  by 
which  we  openly  and  legally  subscribe  to  God's 
terms  of  salvation,  and  thereby  pledge  our  fidelity 
to  him;  and  God,  in  this  same  transaction,  renews 
his  promises  in  the  sweet  assurance  of  his  personal 
testimony  with  the  individual  believer,  to  save 
him  forever  if  faithful  to  the  covenant  pledge. 
The  moment  we  violate  our  baptismal  vows,  we 
forfeit  all  our  claim  to  salvation  in  the  stipulated 
covenant,  and  release  God  from  his  promises. 


272        THE  DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

God,  then,  having  provided  for  our  salvation 
from  sin,  in  a  covenant  of  redemption,  and  en- 
joined all  who  would  accept  his  offers  of  grace  to 
give  their  assent  by  subscribing  to  his  covenant 
of  blessing,  in  a  form  which  he  instituted  for  this 
very  purpose,  namely,  baptism,  is  a  man  excusable 
for  refusing  to  comply  with  God's  request,  and  to 
perform  his  part  of  setting  his  seal  and  signature 
to  the  covenant  through  baptism?  Christians  who 
are  not  baptized  have  never  accepted  God's  cov- 
enant of  grace,  nor  vowed  their  fidelity  to  it  in 
God's  appointed  way.  If  God  in  his  conversion 
has  testified  by  the  Spirit  to  the  performance  of 
his  part  of  the  covenant,  that  divine  testimony 
finds  no  legal  acknowledgment  on  his  part  until 
he  is  baptized. 

Another  inducement  deduced  from  the  nature 
of  baptism,  is  the  honor  of  a  high  privilege  which 
it  confers  upon  us.  Baptism  is  an  act  of  initia- 
tion into  the  visible  organized  Church  of  Christ. 
Hence,  he  that  is  not  ceremonially  baptized  is  not 
a  member  of  his  visible  organization.  This  is 
foregoing  an  honorable  distinction.  Is  there  a 
higher  token  of  honor  than  that  of  wearing  the 
badge  of  a  disciple  of  Christ,  and  to  be  marked 
as  belonging  to  him  and  not  to  the  world?  A 
foreigner  who  wishes  to  become  a  citizen  of  this 


THE  ETHICS  OF  BAPTISM.  273 

country  is  required  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
The  President  of  the  United  States,  after  his  elec- 
tion, takes  the  oath  of  his  office,  not  because  it 
gives  him  a  right  to  the  office,  or  confers  any 
qualification,  but  because  it  is  necessary  to  bestow 
official  recognition  and  authority.  No  individual 
is  recognized  by  God  as  a  citizen  or  servant  in  his 
visible  Church,  until  he  takes  the  affidavit  of  bap- 
tism, which  inaugurates  him  into  all  the  honorable 
prerogatives  and  distinctions  of  his  commonwealth 
on  earth.  It  confers  no  character,  but  is  the  offi- 
cial badge  of  our  heavenly  citizenship. 

Again,  it  is  a  means  of  grace,  which  brings  its 
proffisred  blessings,  and  when  received  in  faith,  all 
the  blessings  and  benefits  which  it  signifies  are 
vouchsafed  to  the  believer.  Paul  says  we  put  on 
Christ  in  baptism.  (Gal.  3:  27.)  We  also  put 
on  fervent  prayer  as  we  pass  through  the  solemni- 
ties of  the  ordinance,  and  often,  like  the  Master, 
receive  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
very  act  and  moment  when  the  water  is  admin- 
istered, whereby  God  witnesses  that  he  is  well 
pleased  with  us.  "  Jesus  also  being  baptized,  and 
praying,  the  heaven  was  opened"  (Luke  3:  21). 
The  answer  to  that  prayer  came  instantly,  for  the 
Holy  Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  shape,  like  a 
dove,  upon  him,  and  a  voice  came  from  heaven, 

18  ^ 


274        THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHEISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

which  said,  "Thou  art  my  beloved  Son;  in  thee 
I  am  well  pleased."  In  the  exercise  of  this  means 
of  grace,  God's  spiritual  sons  and  daughters  are 
baptized  under  a  cloud  of  heavenly  benedictions. 
Baptism,  then,  is  not  only  a  blessing,  a  privi- 
lege, an  honor,  or  a  dictate  of  gratitude  and 
loyalty,  but  a  duty,  the  neglect  of  which  is  a 
harmful  mistake,  and  an  open  sin  of  which  no 
Christian  should  be  guilty. 

I — 2.  Our  obligation  to  observe  the  sacrament 
appears  from  another  fact.  Baptism  is  a  mode  of 
confession.  We  thereby  publish  to  the  world  that 
we  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  the  atoning  blood  of 
Christ,  and  proclaim  that,  henceforth,  we  will 
obey  and  follow  him.  Jesus  said,  "Whosoever 
therefore  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
confess  also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him 
will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven"  (Matt.  10:  32,  33).  And  Paul  says,  "If 
thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus, 

-  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved. 
For  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness; and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation  "  (Rom.  10 : 9, 10).  To  which  John  adds, 
"Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Son 


THE   ETHICS   OF   BAPTISM.  275 

of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him,  and  lie  in  God" 
(I.  John  4: 15).  Confession,  whether  by  word  or 
act,  makes  no  man  a  Christian;  but  it  is  a  visible, 
public  declaration  that  he  is  a  Christian.  If  the 
confession  has  no  virtue  to  save  a  man,  it  has 
virtue  in  glorifying  God  before  the  world  through 
our  public  testimony,  just  as  letting  our  light 
shine  before  men,  instead  of  hiding  it  under  a 
bushel,  as  another  sort  of  open  confession,  brings 
glory  to  God. 

This  mode  of  confessing  Christ,  to  which  is 
attached  a  promise  and  a  blessing,  is  not  only  a 
proclaiming  of  our  faith  in  Christ,  but  becomes  a 
duty,  which  cannot  be  omitted  without  sustaining 
moral  loss  and  suflering  condemnation.  A  refusal 
to  confess  Christ  in  baptism  is  virtually  a  denial 
of  Christ.  A  Christian  who  ignores  this  Bible 
duty,  denies  his  loyalty  and  allegiance  to  Christ 
by  discarding  one  of  the  most  sacred  and  solemn 
forms  of  confessing  him  before  men.  ,- J 

3.  This  duty,  again,  is  set  forth  by  the  example 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  who  baptized,  and  were 
baptized,  in  order  "to  fulfill  all  righteousness." 

If  we  wish  to  be  "followers  of  Christ,"  why 
not  follow  him  in  this  example  ?  He  has  given 
us  an  example  that  we  should  do  as  he  has  done. 
This  example,  unlike  many  others,  is  not  of  an 


276         THE   DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

optional  character,  but  is  made  especially  obligatory 
by  express  command,  and  therefore  we  are  bound 
to  obey;  aad  to  know  our  duty  here  and  to  spurn 
it,  is  equivalent  to  refusing  to  be  a  "  follower  of 
Christ." 

If  the  divine  Master  considered  baptism  need- 
ful to  the  fulfilling  of  '^all  righteousness,"  how 
much  more  needful  for  the  disciple,  if  he  would 
meet  all  the  demands  of  his  righteousness,  that 
he  should  not  be  found  wanting  in  this  one  thing 
needful.  To  offend  in  one  duty,  makes  us  guilty 
of  the  whole  law.  The  progressive  Christian, 
who  aims  at  roundness  and  completeness  of  moral 
character,  should  see  to  it  that  no  niche  in  the 
arch  of  his  righteousness  is  left  unoccupied. 
"Want  of  baptism,  is  an  empty  nook  in  close 
proximity  to  the  keystone  of  fundamental  right- 
eousness. 

The  apostles  must  have  felt  the  imperative  duty 
of  their  commission,  or  they  would  not  have  gone 
about  everywhere  preaching  and  baptizing  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.  They  all  urged  upon  their  con- 
verts baptism  as  the  first  duty  to  be  performed 
after  conversion.  Peter  said,  "Repent  and  be 
baptized,"  in  advance  of  their  reception  of  the 
truth,  and  afterward,  the  multitudes  who  gladly 
received  the  word  were  immediately   baptized. 


THE   ETHICS    OF   BAPTISM.  277 

Philip,  in  Samaria,  did  not  consider  his  work 
complete  until  all  who  believed  were  baptized, 
both  men  and  women ;  and  he  baptized  the  "  man 
of  Ethiopia  "  immediately  upon  his  profession  of 
faith.  As  soon  as  Cornelius  was  converted,  he 
was  baptized.  Ananias  was  sent  to  Paul  to  bap- 
tize him  before  he  should  leave  the  house  of  his 
second  birth;  and  Paul  himself,  as  soon  as  the 
jailer  in  Philippi  professed  faith,  baptized  him 
and  his  straightway.  The  manner  in  which  they 
administered  this  sacrament,  indicates  that  they 
regarded  baptism  as  second  in  importance  to 
regeneration. 

This  rite,  instituted  by  Christ,  has  continued  in 
the  Church  through  all  ages,  and  has  so  perme- 
ated the  human  conscience  that  it  will  never  be 
abandoned  by  the  Church  militant  on  earth.  The 
importance  attached  to  the  sacrament  by  the 
apostles,  however,  has  declined  among  many  sects 
of  Christendom;  for  in  many  Churches  to-day, 
ministers  are  not  as  faithful  in  urging  and  admin- 
istering water  baptism  to  their  converts  immedi- 
ately after  conversion  as  were  the  ministers  of  the 
primitive  Church. 

!N'o  Christian  can  be  blameless  and  guiltless 
before  God  who  regards  the  example  of  Christ 
and  his  apostles  in  baptizing  as  unworthy  of  im- 
itation in  our  day. 


278         THE    DOCTRINE    OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

4.  But  a  much  higher,  indeed  the  highest, 
source  of  obligation  is  found  in  the  express 
command  of  Christ  to  his  apostles  after  his  resur- 
rection, "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

A  few  centuries  ago,  Robert  Barclay,  the  emi- 
nent Quaker,  contended  that  this  was  a  command 
to  baptize  spiritually,  and  hence  the  Society  of 
Friends  have  come  to  regard  water  baptism  as  .a 
sad  perversion  of  Christ's  teaching,  and  consider 
its  practice  as  a  carnal  ordinance,  out  of  harmony 
with  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity. 

But  even  later  writers  like  Dr.  James  "W.  Dale, 
who  are  not  in  sympathy  with  Quakerism,  are 
disposed  to  put  a  spiritual  interpretation  upon 
Christ's  command  to  baptize  the  discipled  nations. 
All  such  interpretations  are  mischievous.  They 
darken  counsel,  without  wisdom,  and  pervert  what 
seems  to  be  the  plain  meaning  of  Christ's  words. 

Christ  never  commissioned  any  of  his  disciples 
to  do  what  was  reserved  as  his  sole  prerogative. 
John  declared,  "I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water 
unto  repentance:  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is 
mightier  than  I,  .  .  .  Ae  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghosts  True,  he  gave  the  disciples 
power  to  heal  diseases,  and  do  many  wonderful 


THE  ETHICS  OF  BAPTISM.  279 

works,  but  never  to  regenerate  the  soul,  or  baptize 
it  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  When  proselyte  baptism 
by  water  was  well  known  to  the  disciples  as  ad- 
ministered by  mortal  men,  but  baptism  by  the 
spirit  as  the  work  of  God  only,  how  could  they 
understand  Christ  to  mean  by  his  command  to 
baptize,  the  bestowing  upon  the  nations  that 
believed  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  And  they 
did  not  so  understand  him,  for  they  went  forth  to 
baptize  with  water;  and  no  one  has  yet  disputed 
their  right  to  do  so  upon  the  authority  of  their 
Master's  command  in  this  particular  exercise  of 
their  apostolic  functions. 

Our  obligation  and  authority  to  baptize  and  be 
baptized  rests  chiefly  upon  this  command  of  Christ; 
and  if  water  baptism  is  not  therein  enjoined,  we 
have  no  valid  foundation  for  our  faith  and  prac- 
tice, and  the  Church,  for  the  past  eighteen  hundred 
years,  has  been  under  a  delusion,  teaching  error 
for  truth  and  transgressing  the  command  of  God 
by  her  tradition.  But  we  have  every  reason  for 
believing  that  the  Church  has  received  her  charter 
for  ritual  Christian  baptism  in  this  great  commis- 
sion of  Christ,  delivered  to  his  apostles. 

Again,  it  would  be  vain  to  excuse  our  neglect 
of  this  duty  on  the  plea,  that  although  the  mean- 
ing of  Christ's  command  is  obvious,  yet  we  can 


280         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM. 

see  no  reason  for  such  a  ceremonial  display  of  our 
religious  experience.  This  is  an  attempt  to  walk 
by  sight  rather  than  by  faith,  whereas  Jesus  says, 
"What  I  do  now,  thou  knowest  not,  but  shalt 
hereafter."  "We  are  not  always  able  to  understand 
the  wisdom  and  design  of  a  divine  precept,  but 
our  inability  to  see  or  give  a  reason  does  not  argue 
that,  therefore,  no  reason  for  it  exists. 

If  we  could  see  no  reason  for,  but  rather  against, 
the  observance  of  the  ceremony  of  baptism ;  if  we 
had  not  a  single  argument  in  its  favor,  and  could 
conceive  of  no  possible  benefit  conferred  upon  us 
by  such  an  institution,  the  bare  fact  that  it  was 
commanded  by  the  Author  of  our  faith,  would 
alone  be  enough  to  silence  all  scruples  and  answer 
all  objections.  Christ's  precepts  are  supreme  and 
above  controversy.  When  he  speaks  let  men  be 
quick  to  hear,  slow  to  speak.  It  is  his  province 
to  command,  ours  to  obey,  even  though  we  do  not 
understand.  The  author  of  this  command  said, 
"  Ye  are  my  friends  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  com- 
mand you."  The  "whatsoever"  includes  the 
intelligible  as  well  as  the  unintelligible  biddings 
of  our  Lord;  and  childlike  faith  in  the  unintelli- 
gible commands  is  the  test  of  our  obedience.  But 
for  this,  Abraham,  "  the  friend  of  God,"  could  not 
have  obeyed  the  Lord's  command  to  offer  up  Isaac, 


THE   ETHICS   OP   BAPTISM.  281 

for  the  thing  required  seemed  unreasonable  and 
contradictory.  Confiding  love  is  a  necessary 
preparation  for  a  dutiful  submission  to  God's  will 
and  a  readiness  to  do  his  biddings. 

All  religious  duty  may  be  summed  up  under 
two  heads  —  godly  fear,  and  obedience.  This  was 
Solomon's  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  when 
he  said,  "  Fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments, 
for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man"  (Ecc.  12:  13). 
Baptism  is  one  of  his  prominent  commandments, 
and  if  conscience  were  silent,  Christ  who  is  above 
conscience,  does  require  us  to  obey;  for  'Ho  obey  is 
better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat 
of  rams.  For  rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of  witchcraft, 
and  stubbornness  is  as  iniquity"  (I.  Sam.  15: 
22,  23). 

But  the  force  of  our  duty  is  emphasized  by  the 
contemplation  of  some  facts  which  are  necessary 
deductions  from  this  command. 

(1.)  Christ's  commands  are  evidently  an  ex- 
pression of  his  will,  and  not  to  do  his  commands 
is  not  to  do  his  will.  But  this  is  all  the  more  im- 
portant because  it  was  his  parting  counsel.  This 
is  what  gives  special  sacredness  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, since  it  is  a  grateful  and  solemn  remembrance 
of  a  duty  enjoined  at  the  last  meeting  with  his 
disciples  before  crucifixion,  as  a  memorial  of  his 


282         THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

vicarious  suffering.  His  forty  days  on  earth  after 
his  resurrection  were  devoted  to  instructions 
pertaining  to  his  Church;  and  before  his  final 
departure  he  made  known  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, in  the  words  of  his  solemn  commission,  to 
the  disciples  assembled  at  Galilee.  It  surely  is  no 
small  thing  tQ  disregard  this  last  will  of  our 
ascended  Lord. 

I  (2.)  Another  deduction  from  these  considera- 
tions is  that  obedience  to  Christ's  command  and 
will  is  an  expression  of  our  love  for  him.  "If  ye 
love  me  kee^D  my  commandments,"  says  the  Mas- 
ter; and  the  disciple,  whom  he  especially  loved, 
said,  "  For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep 
his  commandments"  (I.  John  5:  3).  Obedience 
is  peculiarly  connected  with  the  principle  of  love, 
indeed  is  a  proof  of  our  attachment  to  the  Savior. 
Our  Lord,  before  he  laid  upon  Peter  the  duty  of 
feeding  his  flock,  three  times  repeated  the  test 
question:  "Lovest  thou  me?"  If  any  follower 
of  Christ  can  honestly  respond,  "Lord,  thou 
knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee,"  he  will  not  hesitate  to  do  his  command- 
ments; and  his  commandment  is  that  you  be  bap- 
tized, "i/"  ye  LOVE  me"  be  baptized;  if  not  your 
neglect  will  testify  your  want  of  love  for  the 
j  Master. 


THE  ETHICS  OF  BAPTISM.  283 

5.  Again,  conscience  pleads  for  obedience  to 
this  command  of  Jesus. 

Peter,  in  speaking  of  the  significance  of  bap- 
tism, says  it  is  "  not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth 
of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  [or  questioning]  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God"  (I.  Peter  3:  21.) 

Conscience  is  our  arbitrator  in  every  moral 
litigation.  This  judge  of  our  moral  tribunal  will 
pass  sentence  of  condemnation  upon  every  willful 
violation  of  law  or  neglect  of  known  duty. 

The  word  rendered  "answer"  in  above  text, 
has  the  idea  of  contract  by  conference.  "  The  word 
seems  to  denote  the  promise  made  in  baptism. 
St.  Luke  uses  the  word  sTrepordv  (eperotan)  for  ques- 
tioning, where  he  speaks  of  the  child  Jesus  as 
being  found  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of 
the  doctors,  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them 
questions.  The  word  appears  to  comprehend,  as 
referred  to  baptism,  the  mutual  questions  and 
answers  which  make  up  the  process  of  teaching, 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  stipulation  on  the  other."  ^ 

In  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  many 
for  our  salvation,  he  entered  into  a  most  solemn 
engagement,  for  the  faithfulness  of  which  he  has 
pledged  his  most  sacred  honor,  to  save  us  from 
everlasting  destruction,  upon  terms  of  our  repent- 

1.    Bengel's  "  Gnomon,"  in  loco. 


284         THE   DOCTRINE   OP   CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

ance,  faith,  and  continued  obedience;  and,  as  an 
outward,  visible  token  of  this  engagement,  he 
appointed  water  baptism  as  a  seal  on  his  part,  and 
as  a  sign  on  our  part,  and  commanded  that  it  be 
observed  by  all  who  would  follow  the  Lord  in 
sincerity  and  truth.  Can  the  conscientious  Chris- 
tian, who  desires  to  obey  the  whole  counsel  of 
G-od,  omit  this  command  of  his  Master,  which  is 
made  to  signify  such  obligations,  and  not  be  ac- 
cused by  his  conscience  ?  Conscience  asks,  "  Can 
you  truly  love  God  as  long  as  you  are  willfully 
neglecting  this  command  ?  Are  you  doing  his 
will  while  you  continue  to  disobey  him  in  this 
particular  ?  Can  you  be  happy  in  your  disobe- 
dience ?  Will  you  refuse  to  confess  Christ  in 
baptism  ?  Will  you  decline  to  engage  in  this 
visible  covenant  of  grace  ? "  The  "  better  angel 
of  your  nature "  must  respond,  "  If  ye  know 
these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them."  Every 
Christian  who  submits  to  a  candid  examination  of 
his  conscience,  will  receive  this  verdict.  "  Baptism 
satisfies  a  good  conscience."  We  do  not  say  that 
baptism  is  essential  to  salvation,  but  it  is  essential 
to  a  good  conscience,  and  our  way  to  heaven  is 
rendered  easy  through  a  good  conscience. 


INDEX. 


Ablution,  33, 157-164. 

Abrahamic  Church,  her  rite  of  initiation,  59. 

Abraham's  sign  of  circumcision,  51. 

Adult  baptism  of  persons  raised  in  Christian  families,  no  record  of,  in 

New  Testament,  92. 
Adults,  baptism  of,  65. 
uEnon,  baptism  at,  46. 
A^ws,  meaning  of,  in  Scripture,  84. 
A^^om,  the,  of  the  Jews,  158. 
Agrigentum,  lake  near,  138. 
Ainsworth,  132. 
Ambrose,  29. 

his  use  of  the  word  baptizo,  180. 

on  infant  baptism,  99. 
Anabaptist  and  Pedobaptist  writers,  controversy  of,  69. 
Analogy  between  immersion  and  death  and  burial  of  Christ  unfortu- 
nate, 232,  233. 
Anti-Baptists  on  John's  baptism,  194  flf. 
Antonius,  Marcus,  quoted,  141. 
Apo,  force  of,  in  New  Testament  Greek,  218. 
Apocrypha,  meaning  of  baptizo  in,  176. 
Apostles,  no  evidence  that  they  received  Christian  baptism,  45,  46. 

baptized  converts  immediately  after  conversion,  276,  277. 
Arian  baptistry  at  Ravenna,  205. 
Aristotle,  his  sense  of  oikos,  96. 

quoted,  148. 
Art,  furnishes  fanciful  representations  of  Christ's  baptism,  204. 

Christian,  on  mode,  258. 
Ashes,  blood,  or  water,  the  symbolizing  element  in  ritual  baptism,  33. 
Athanasius,  his  "Philosophical  Banquet,"  quoted,  140. 

his  use  of  baptizo,  181. 
Augustine  on  infant  baptism,  100,  101. 
Austin's  skill  in  immersing,  211. 

285 


286  INDEX. 

Bapheidos,  Prof.  "  Church  History,"  quoted,  247. 
Baptism,  spiritual  or  real,  27. 
in  the  Old  Testament,  27,  28. 
in  the  New  Testament,  28,  29. 
"of  fire  "  explained,  28,  29. 
cited,  54. 
ritual,  32. 
proselyte,  35. 
of  John,  36. 
of  Christ,  41. 
Christian,  45. 

authorized  after  Christ's  resurre<5lion,  46. 
at  ^non,  unknown  in  its  nature,  46. 
subjects  of,  65. 
mode  of,  121. 

by  John,  191. 

Christ's,  198. 

the  three  thousand  on  day  of  Pentecost,  207. 

the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  218. 

Saul's,  220. 

Cornelius  and  his  friends,  221. 

miscellaneous  examples,  223. 

additional  remarks  on,  245. 

precepts  on,  227. 
the  ethics  of,  267. 
by  deputation,  197. 
for  the  dead,  235-238. 
by  sand,  249. 
in  a  nude  state,  257. 
a  solemn  covenant,  270. 
a  means  of  grace,  273. 
a  mode  of  confession,  274. 
Baptismal  covenant,  the,  49,  50. 
Baptismal  regeneration,  257. 

scripture  used  in  support  of  this  do<5lrine,  54. 

unjustly  charged  upon  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Protestant 

Episcopal  Church,  57. 
believed  in  by  many  of  the  Church  fathers,  53,  178. 
taught  by  the  Church  of  Rome  and  by  Mormonism,  53. 
as  taught  by  Tertullian,  98. 
disproved,  103, 


ixDEx.  287 


Baptismos,  known  in  the  days  of  Homer,  23. 

used  by  Pindar,  23. 

used  by  Aristotle  and  Plato,  23. 

of  heathen  and  non-religious  origin,  24. 

occurs  four  times  in  the  New  Testament,  187. 
Baptisms,  the  dodlrine  of,  23. 

how  used  by  ancient  writers,  25. 

how  defined  by  Dr.  Dale,  25,  26. 

ceremonial,  excessive  in  the  times  of  Christ,  35. 

water,  36. 

family,  94-96. 
Baptists,  position  on  infant  baptism,  69. 

their  fundamental  argument  for  immersion,  131. 

on  John's  baptism,  192  ff. 

Bible  Union  translation  of  baptizo  in  Mark  10  :  38,  166. 

excluded  from  the  polar  regions,  264. 
Baptizo,  131. 

admits  of  various  meanings,  135  ff,  189. 

in  classic  literature,  135. 

1.  To  dip,  135. 

2.  To  dye  or  tinge,  136. 

3.  To  wash  or  be  wave-beaten,  136. 

4.  To  sink,  138. 

5.  To  immerse,  138. 

6.  To  bury,  139. 

7.  To  immerse  partly,  139. 

8.  To  drown,  140. 

9.  To  make  drunk,  140. 

10.  To  stupefy,  140. 

11.  To  overpower  or  overwhelm,  141. 

12.  To  sprinkle,  141. 
in  sacred  literature,  156. 

in  the  New  Testament,  157. 

1.  To  wash,  157  ff. 

2.  To  endure  or  suffer,  165  ff. 

3.  To  initiate,  168  ff. 
in  the  Old  Testament,  171. 

1.  To  wet  or  moisten,  171. 

2.  To  dip,  to  plunge,  to  immerse,  171  ff. 

3.  To  terrify,  174  ff. 
in  Apocrypha,  176. 


288  INDEX. 

Judith  12:7;  Kcclesiasticus  34 :  25,  176. 
in  patristic  literature,  177. 
as  used  by  Basil,  179. 

Cyril  of  Alexandria,  179. 
Jerome,  179. 
Ambrose,  180. 
Justin  Martyr,  180. 
Tertullian,  180. 
Origen,  180. 
Athanasius,  181. 
Eusebius,  181. 

Didymus  of  Alexandria,  181.  ■ 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  181. 
its  use  in  the  various  versions  of  the  Bible,  182. 
explanation  by  eminent  theologfians,  183. 
transition  of  meaning  from  secular  to  sacred,  148. 
difficulty  of  giving  it  a  univocal  meaning,  143,  144. 
as  defined  by  Dr.  James  W.  Dale  and  William  Hamilton,  145. 
its  most  recent  definition,  147,  155,  179, 
occurs  twenty-six  times  in  New  Testament,  187. 

always  used  in  New  Testament  in  speaking  of  Christian  baptism,  188. 
Bapto,  as  defined  by  Hesychius,  132,  133. 
its  primary  meaning,  135. 
its  secondary  meaning,  136. 
Barclay,  Dr.,  his  testimony  of  abundance  of  water  in  ancient  Jerusa- 
lem, 215. 
quoted,  250. 
Barclay,  Robert,  the  Quaker,  his  view  of  Christ's  command  to  baptize,  278. 
Basil,  his  use  of  baptizo,  179. 
Bathing,  158  flf. 

ancient,  by  use  of  lota,  i-jj. 
Smith's  description  of,  177. 
Bath-kol,  the,  43. 

Baxter,  Richard,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 
Belshazzar's  feast,  171. 
Bengel,  quoted,  236,  283. 
Bethesda,  the  pool  of,  213. 

Blood,  water,  or  ashes,  the  symbolizing  element  in  ritual  baptism,  33. 
Bloomfield,  108. 

"  Born  of  water"  explained,  54. 
Brahmans,  139. 


INDEX.  289 


Bretsclineider,  132. 

"  Bury,"  the  word,  can  suggest  no  uniform  mode,  233. 

Calvin,  108. 

the  originator  of  sprinkling  in  Great  Britain,  250, 
Campbell,  Dr,  A.,  137,  142,  143. 
Carson,  Alexander,  on  infant  baptism,  69. 

his  rendering  of  I.  Corinthians  7  :  14,  85. 

his  estimate  of  the  lexicographers,  132. 

his  law  of  interpretation  for  the  meaning  of  a  word,  134. 

his  resort  to  classic  literature  for  meaning  of  the  word  baptizo,  134. 

his  sweeping  assertions  on  baptizo,  131,  135,  142,  148,  149,  150,  161,  179. 

his  statement  for  determining  the  meaning  of  a  word  in  the  use  of 
language,  189, 

his  way  of  explaining  difficulties,  162,  163,  169. 

his  theory  asserted  by  the  writings  of  the  Church  fathers,  179-182. 

his  triumph  in  the  case  of  Christ's  baptism,  200. 
Cassius,  Dion,  quoted,  138. 

Ceremonial  baptisms  excessive  in  the  time  of  Christ,  35. 
Ceremonial  cleansing,  33. 

deeper  significance  of,  taught  by  Christ,  34. 

mode  of,  176,  239. 
Ceremonial  initiation  into  the  Church  distinguished  from  the  real  initia- 
tion, 60. 
Ceremonies  and  efficacies  connedled  with  baptism  in  the  early  Church, 

unwarranted  by  Scripture,  257. 
Ceremony,  symbolic  of  spiritual  baptism,  32. 

tendency  to  unduly  exalt,  48. 
Challenge  of  the  learned  Cox,  132. 
Chapin's  "Primitive  Church,"  quoted,  132. 
Chatan,  79. 

Child  consecration,  benefit  of,  105. 
Children,  their  relation  to  "  kingdom  of  heaven,"  72,  73. 

were  members  of  the  ancient  Jewish  Church,  78, 

can  be  excluded  from  Church  only  by  precept,  82. 

whose,  are  proper  subjects  for  baptism?  115,  116. 
Christ's  baptism,  41. 

distindl  from  all  others,  41,  42. 

nature  of,  43,  iii,  112. 

in  art,  204. 
Christ  himself  never  baptized,  45. 

circumcised  on  the  eighth  day,  92. 

19 


290  IXDEX. 

Christian  art  on  mode,  258. 

Christian  adults,  baptism  of,  65. 

Christian  pradtice,  a  necessary'  qualification  for  baptism,  66. 

Christian  ritual  baptism,  as  a  sign  and  pledge,  51. 

not  the  thing  signified,  as  in  Romish  and  Mormon  sense,  53. 

nature  of,  as  expressed  in  the  various  symbols  of  the  Protestant 
Churches,  56-59. 

primary  import  of,  59. 

secondary'  import  of,  59. 

has  come  in  the  place  of  circumcision,  86,  87. 

why  called  Christian,  45. 

its  nature  and  design  defined,  47. 
Christian  \nrtue  expressed  by  the  Greek  word  arete,  152. 
Chrysostom's  skill  in  immersing,  211. 

Church,  the,  founded  on  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  75,  76. 
Church  commission  on  re\'ision  of  confession  of  faith  and  constitution,  121. 
Church,  difference  between  a  and  the,  61. 
Church  fathers,  their  use  of  the  word  baptizo,  177  fi'. 

their  testimonies  on  infant  baptism,  97-100, 
Church  of  Christ,  the  visible  and  invisible,  59,  60. 
Church  of  England,  her  twenty-seventh  article  on  baptism,  56. 
Church  of  Rome,  the,  her  dodlrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  53. 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  her  mode  of  baptism,  121. 
Circumcision,  appointed  in  Abraham's  time,  51. 

necessary  to  become  a  member  of  the  theocracy,  78. 

a  civil  and  religious  badge,  79. 

spiritual.  So. 

superseded  by  baptism,  86,  87. 

effedted  by  Christ's  command,  93. 

settled  by  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  93,  94. 

of  Timothy,  a  prudential  adl,  94. 

called  a  baptism  by  Martyr,  180. 
Circumcised  infants  not  admitted  to  the  Passover,  io3. 
Clark,  Adam,  his  testimony  on  meaning  of  the  word  baptizo,  184. 
Classic  literature,  Carson's  source  of  investigation  for  the  meaning  of 

baptizo,  134. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  his  use  of  baptizo,  181. 

on  clinic  baptism,  249. 
Clinic  baptism,  24S. 
Codex  Yaticanus.  158. 
Colossians  2  :  12  explained,  232. 


INDEX.  291 

Command*t)f  Christ,  the,  makes  baptism  a  duty,  278. 
Commentary  on  Romans  by  Origen,  99. 
Commission  of  Christ  to  the  apostles,  force  of,  8S-90. 

spiritual  interpretation  of,  by  Barclay  and  Dale,  278. 
Conant,  T.  J.,  his  rendering  of  the  word  baptizo,  131. 

cited,  142. 
Confession,  baptism  a  mode  of,  274. 
Confession  of  faith  of  United  Brethren  Church,  stated,  121. 

proved  to  be  corredt,  244. 
Conscience,  liberty  of,  in  mode  of  baptism,  128. 

makes  baptism  a  duty,  283. 
Constantine's  baptism,  99,  249. 
Contents,  table  of,  13. 
Controversy  on  mode  of  baptism,  122-128. 
Corinthians,  I.,  15  :  29  explained,  235. 
Cornelius  and  his  friends,  baptism  of,  221. 
Couches,  washing  of,  162. 
Council  at  Carthage,  99. 

at  Jerusalem  to  settle  the  circumcision  controversy,  93,  94. 
Covenant  of  baptism,  the,  stated,  49,  50. 
Covenant  relation  of  children  to  the  Church,  72. 
Covenant,  Mosaic  and  Abrahamic  distinguished,  82. 

with  Abraham,  "everlasting,"  83. 

baptism,  a,  270. 
Cox,  132,  133. 
"  Cup  "  of  suffering,  166. 
Cyril  of  Alexandria,  his  use  of  baptizo,  179, 
Crypt  of  St.  I,ucina,  204. 

Dale,  James  W.,  his  definition  of  baptism,  25. 

his  definition  of  baptizo,  145. 

quoted,  146,  147. 

as  applied  and  used  by  the  Church  fathers,  179. 

his  view  of  the  baptism  of  the  three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, 208. 

his  view  of  Christ's  command  to  baptize,  278. 
David,  28. 

Day,  Henry  N.,  "  Art  of  Discourse,"  quoted,  129. 
Dead,  baptism  for  the,  235-238, 
De  Baptismo  of  Tertullian,  98. 
Definition  of  baptizo,  the  most  recent,  145-148. 
Definition,  univocal,  of  baptizo  impossible,  189. 


292  INDEX. 

Deputation,  baptism  by,  45. 
De  Rossi,  260. 
Dexter  on  immersion,  250. 
Dick,  John,  his  testimony  on  bapttzo,  185. 
Didache,  the  recently  discovered,  252. 
Didymus  of  Alexandria,  his  use  of  haptizo,  l8i. 
Discussion  of  the  word  baptizo,  131. 

Discussion  of  the  examples  of  baptism  in  New  Testament,  190, 
John's,  191-198. 
Jesus',  198-207. 

the  three  thousand  on  day  of  Pentecost,  207-218. 
the  ISthiopian  eunuch,  218-220. 
Saul's,  220. 

Cornelius  and  his  friends,  221. 
miscellaneous  examples,  223-225. 
Dispute  between  John's  disciples  and  the  Jews  concerning  purifying,  34. 
"  Divers  washings,"  160. 
Dodlrine  of  baptisms,  the,  23. 
Doddridge,  Philip,  108. 

favored  infant  baptism,  71. 
Donnegan,  132. 

Dove,  the,  at  Christ's  baptism,  43. 
Downie,  Dr.,  212. 

"  Dry  baptism,  a,"  so  called  by  Carson,  169. 
Dunbar,  132. 

Dutch,  Danish,  and  Swedish  versions  of  bapttzo,  183. 
Duty  of  observing  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  267. 

Ecclesiastical  identity  of  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Churches,  77, 78. 
Kdwards,  Dr.,  quoted,  163,  164. 

Eis,  force  of,  in  New  Testament  Greek,  200,  201,  203,  204,  218,  219. 
Ek,  force  of,  in  New  Testament  Greek,  218,  219. 
En,  force  of,  in  New  Testament  Greek,  199. 
Estimates,  various,  of  time  during  which  John  baptized,  195. 
Ethics,  the,  of  baptism,  267. 
Ethiopian  eunuch,  baptism  of,  218. 
Eusebius,  his  use  of  baptizo,  181. 

his  testimony  of  the  abundance  of  water  in  ancient  Jerusalem,  214. 
Evanus,  24. 
Ewing,  G.,  132. 
quoted,  144. 
Example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  275. 


INDEX.  29^3? 

Samples  of  baptism  recorded  in  New  Testament,  190. 

John's,  191. 

Jesus',  198. 

the  three  thousand  on  day  of  Pentecost,  207. 

the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  218. 

Saul's,  220. 

Cornelius  and  his  friends,  221. 

and  others,  223. 
Samples  of  new  meaning  given  to  words  of  classic  Greek,  152-154. 
Exposition  of  the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  252-255. 
Ezekiel  36 :  25  explained,  238. 

Faith,  a  qualification  for  adult  baptism,  65. 
unnecessary  for  infant  baptism,  106,  107. 
Family  baptism,  94-96. 

Farrow,  F.  W.,  "I^ife  of  Christ,"  quoted,  109,  no. 
Featly,  quoted,  250. 

Fidus,  his  idea  of  infant  baptism,  99,  100, 
Figurative  explanation  of  John's  baptism,  196. 
Fish,  the,  as  a  symbol  of  Christ,  260. 
Formula  of  baptism,  the,  46. 
Fox,  John,  211. 

Fuller,  Richard,  his  definition  of  baptizo,  131,  132,  142,  143. 
Fundamental  dodlrine  of  Christianity,  a  knowledge  ol,  necessary  for 
baptism,  66. 

Gale,  Dr.,  136. 

Gains,  baptism  of,  224. 

Garrucci,  quoted,  260,  261. 

Gases,  his  definition  of  baptizOy  133. 

Gedaliah,  140,  141. 

Gentiles,  first  introdudtion  of  baptism  among  the,  221. 

Gihon,  proof  of,  213. 

Gill's,  Dr.,  rendering  of  I.  Corinthians  7  :  14,  85. 

God's  visible  sign  of  stipulation,  51. 

God's  will  expressed  in  his  commands,  281. 

Goethe,  quoted,  244. 

Great  Britain,  change  of  mode  in,  249,  250. 

Greek  language  of  the  New  Testament,  150. 

Greenfield,  132. 

Groves,  132. 


294  INDEX. 

HALICAH2VASSUS,  Dionysius,  142. 

Hall,  Dr.  ^dwin,  on  meaning  of  Christ's  commission,  89,  90. 

"  L,a.\7  of  Baptism,"  quoted,  155. 
Hall,  William,  quoted,  246. 

Hall,  I.  H.,  his  translation  of  the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  252. 
Halley,  Dr.,  quoted,  165. 
Hamilton,  "William,  his  definition  of  bapit'zo,  145. 

his  view  of  the  baptism  of  the  three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pente 
cost,  208. 

quoted,  149,  169,  172,  173,  216. 
Heidelberg  Catechism  on  baptism,  57. 
Heliod,  quoted,  141, 

Hellenistic  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  150. 
Henderson,  Dr.,  quoted,  183. 
Hendricus,  132. 

Hesychius,  the  oldest  native  Greek  lexicographer,  132. 
Hezekiah,  pool  of,  213. 

Hibbard's  estimate  of  the  number  baptized  by  John,  195. 
Hibbard,  "  Christian  Baptism,"  quoted,  264. 
Hilarius  on  clinic  baptism,  249. 

Hilary,  29.  >, 

Hill,  Geo.,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  186. 
Historical  development,  an,  of  mode,  245. 
History  of  mode  of  baptism  in  the  ancient  Church,  245-247. 
Hitchcock,  R.  D.,  on  the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  254. 
Hodge,  A.  A.,  "  Outlines  of  Systematic  Theology,"  quoted,  iii,  151. 

his  testimony  on  bapiizo,  187. 
Hodge,  Charles,  quoted,  48. 

his  testimony  on  baptizo,  186. 
Homer,  148. 

Honor  conferred  by  baptism,  272. 
Horn's  "  Introdudlion  to  the  Scriptures,"  quoted,  108. 
Household  baptism,  94-96. 
Howe,  John,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 
Hybrida  lingua^  151. 

Immerse,  the  Hebrew  word  for,  172. 
Immersion,  the  only  mode  in  Mormonisra,  53. 

Dr.  Carson's  sweeping  proposition  on,  131,  135. 

Christ's  baptism,  a  strong  evidence  of,  198. 

based  on  Romans  6 :  3,  4,  and  Colossians  2  :  12,  by  Baptists,  232  ff. 

the  prevalent,  but  not  universal,  mode  in  the  ancient  Church,  245  flf. 


INDEX.  295 

trine,  in  ancient  and  modem  Churches,  247. 

in  the  early  Church,  the  rule,  pouring  and  sprinkling,  the  excep- 
tion, 24S. 

declared  essential  first  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  the  English 
Baptists,  250. 

testimony  of  the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  254. 

reversed  after  the  thirteenth  century,  249. 

in  a  nude  state,  257. 

least  adapted  to  universality  of  pradlice,  263. 

not  adapted  to  the  polar  regions,  264. 
Infant  and  adult  membership  distinguished,  iii. 
Infant  baptism,  only  for  children  of  Christian  parents,  115,  116. 

testimonies  concerning,  by  the  Church  fathers,  97. 

denounced  by  Baptists,  69,  70. 

in  the  New  Testament,  94-96. 

obje<5lions  to,  answered,  103-117. 

taught  not  by  precept,  but  by  indudtion,  71,  72. 

not  to  be  derided,  104,  105. 

not  a  useless  device,  114. 
Infant  children  of  Christian  parents  subjedts  for  baptism,  69. 
Infants  were  members  of  the  Jewish  Church,  78. 

Initiation  into  the  Church,  diflference  between  the  real  and  the  ceremo- 
nial, 59,  60. 

into  the  visible  Church,  272. 
Instrument  of  grace,  baptism  not  an,  47-55. 
Introdudtion  by  Bishop  J.  Weaver,  7. 
Irenaeuson  infant  baptism,  98,  99,  loi. 
Isagoge  on  infant  baptism,  186. 
Isaiah  44  •  3  explained,  240. 

also  52  :  15  explained,  238. 
Isaiah's  baptism  of  terror,  174. 
Ishmael,  141. 

Jailer,  the,  baptism  of,  95,  223. 

Jamieson,  Fausset  &  Brown's  Commentary,  quoted,  42,  168,  231. 
Jerome,  his  use  of  bapttzo,  179. 
Jesus,  mode  of  his  baptism,  198. 

Jewish  Church,  ritualism  of  the,  in  time  of  Christ,  48. 
Joel  2  •  28,  29,  explained,  240. 
John's  disciples  at  Ephesus,  baptism  of,  223,  224. 
John's  ritual  baptism,  36. 
his  titular  name,  36. 


296  INDEX. 

nature  of  his  baptism,  37. 

a  mediation  between  the  Old  and  New  Testament  theocracy,  39. 

difference  between,  and  Christian  baptism,  39,  40. 

mode  of,  191  ff. 

may  have  been  received  by  the  early  disciples,  46. 
Josephus,  quoted,  138,  140,  141. 
Joshua,  25. 
Juda  Ben  Tema,  no. 
"Judaic  Baptism,"  Dale,  quoted,  25,  26. 
Judith's  baptism  of  washing,  176. 
Julian,  the  emperor,  141. 

Kedron,  the  brook,  218. 
Knapp,  Joseph,  his  skill  in  immersing,  212. 
Knox,  John,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 
Kiihnol,  108. 

I^ANGUAGE  of  the  New  Testament  and  classic  Greek  different,  150. 

I^axity  in  the  observance  of  baptism,  267. 

Lexicographers  and  Dr.  Carson,  132 

I/Cxicons  no  sure  guide  for  the  study  of  words,  134. 

Ivibanius,  24,  141. 

lyiberty  of  conscience  in  mode  of  baptism,  128,  262,  263. 

Liddell  and  Scott,  132. 

I^ightfoot,  Dr.,  quoted,  88. 

lyiteral  explanation  of  John's  baptism,  196. 

Literature,  general,  a  better  guide  than  lexicons  in  the  study  of  the 

meaning  of  any  particular  word,  134. 
Lord's  Supper,  the,  its  Greek  derivation,  152. 
Lota,  used  in  bathing,  177. 

Love  to  God  expressed  by  obedience  to  his  commands,  282. 
Lucian,  140. 
Lucina,  Crypt  of,  259. 
Luther,  Martin,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 

his  translation  of  bapiizo,  182. 
Lycophron,  "  Cassandra,"  quoted,  139. 
Lydia  and  her  household,  baptism  of,  94,  223. 

Maimonides  on  proselyte  baptism,  88, 

Marriott,  Wharton  B.,  "  Didtionary  of  Christian  Antiquities,"  quoted,  246. 
Martyr,  Justin,  on  infant  baptism,  97. 
his  use  of  baptizo,  180. 


INDEX.  297 

Mart3rrdom  called  a  baptism,  i8i. 
Means  of  grace,  baptism  a,  47,  55,  56,  273. 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  baptism,  57. 
Michael  Angelo's  Moses,  a  false  representation,  205. 
Mikra,  no. 

Miller,  Dr.,  his  comment  on  nude  baptism,  257. 
Ministers  neglecfling  to  enforce  the  duty  of  baptism,  268,  277. 
Miscellaneous  examples  of  baptism  in  New  Testament,  223. 
Mishna,  no. 

Modal  baptism,  burden  of  proof  lies  with  its  advocates,  129. 
Modalism  not  sustained  by  the  word  baptizo,  131. 
not  sustained  by  Scripture  examples,  190. 
not  sustained  by  precepts  and  teachings  of  Bible,  227. 
not  sustained  by  the  two  most  ancient  manuscripts,  256. 
not  sustained  by  the  Didache,  251. 
not  sustained  by  Christian  art,  258. 
a  tendency  toward  Romanism,  228. 
Mode  of  baptism,  the,  121. 

extent  of  controversy  on,  123. 
no  justifiable  reason  for  this  controversy,  124-128. 
main  proposition  on,  128. 
uncertain,  in  John's  ministry,  191-198. 
of  Christ,  198-207. 
of  the  three  thousand,  207-218. 
of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  218-220. 
of  Saul,  220,  221. 

of  Cornelius  and  his  friends,  221-223. 

the  Samaritans,  I,ydia,  the  jailer,  Crispus,  John's  disciples  at 
Ephesus,  Crispus  and  Gains,  223-225. 
precepts  and  teachings  of  Bible  on,  227. 
concluding  remarks  on,  244. 

historical  testimonies  on,  in  the  ancient  Church,  245-247. 
vote  on,  by  Westminister  divines,  250. 
the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  "  on,  251. 

Naaman's  baptism  in  Jordan,  171-174. 

Nature  of  Christian  baptism,  we  learn  our  duty  from,  269. 

Neander's  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  quoted,  245. 

Nebuchadnezzar's  baptism,  171. 

New  Testament  baptisms,  190. 

New  Testament  Church  and  Old  Testament  Church  one  and  the  same,  75. 

New  Testament  Greek,  150. 


298  INDEX. 

New  Testament,  various  meanings  of  baptizo  in,  156  ff. 

Nicodemus's  perplexity  concerning  John  3:5.  54. 

Noah,  sign  given  him  by  God,  51. 

Non-essentials,  the,  121-128. 

Nude  baptism  in  ancient  Church,  257. 

Nullification  of  infant  church- membership  not  found  in  Scriptures,  82. 

Obedience  to  inexplicable  commands  a  duty,  280. 
Obedience  an  expression  of  love  to  God,  282. 

Ufe  of,  necessary  for  baptism,  66, 
Objecflions  to  infant  baptism  considered,  103-117. 

(First,  103;  second,  105;  third,  106;  fourth,  107;  fifth,  iii ;  sixth,  112; 
seventh,  114.) 
Officiating  clergymen  must  demand  pledges  in  baptizing  infants,  116. 
Oikos  and  oikia,  difference  of,  95,  96. 

Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  Church  the  same,  75. 
Old  Testament,  various  meanings  of  baptizo  in,  170. 
Ordinance  of  initiation  changed  from  circumcision  to  baptism,  86. 
Ordinances  of  baptism  and  circumcision,  why  Christ  received  both,  92. 
Oriental  Church,  mode  of  baptism  in,  247,  248. 
Origen  on  infant  baptism,  99,  loi. 
Origen,  his  use  of  baptizo,  180. 
Origin  of  Christian  ritual  baptism,  45. 
Owen,  Dr.,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  184. 

Paraclete,  the,  spiritual  operations  of,  27,  28. 

Parkhurst,  132. 

Passor,  132. 

Patrick,  108. 

Patristic  literature,  use  of  the  word  baptizo  in,  177. 

Paul  appealed  to  on  controverted  siibjedts  of  non-essentials,  122. 

Payson,  Dr.,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 

Pedobaptist  and  anabaptist  writers,  controversy  of,  69. 

Pedobaptists'  explanation  of  the  baptism  of  the  three  thousand,  210. 

Pelagius  on  infant  baptism,  100. 

Pentecost,  the  three  thousand  baptized  on  day  of,  46,  55. 

Pentecostal  baptism,  29. 

minor,  30. 
Peshito,  the,  145. 
Peter,  I.,  3 :  21  explained,  229. 
Philology  of  the  word  baptizo,  131  ff. 
Philoteus,  Bryennios,  bishop,  251. 


INDEX.  299 

Pindar,  148. 

his  use  of  bapttsmos,  23. 
Pitts,  quoted,  159. 
Plato,  quoted,  140,  141. 
Plutarch,  136,  141. 

Polybius,  a  Greek  historian,  quoted,  139. 
Poole,  108. 

Pope,  W.  B.,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  187. 
Porphyry,  a  Greek  philosopher,  quoted,  139. 
Position  on  infant  baptism,  our,  71. 
Pouring,  the  first  case  of,  on  record,  255. 

inferred  from  Isa.  44 :  3,  and  John  2  :  28,  29.   240. 
Precept,  a,  necessary  to  exclude  children  from  Church,  82. 
Precepts  and  teachings  on  mode  examined,  227, 
Preface,  5. 

Prerequisites  for  Christian  baptism,  46,  47. 

Protestant  ^Episcopal  Church  unjustly  charged  with  baptismal  regener- 
ation, 57. 
Proposition,  main,  on  mode,  128. 

conclusion  of,  242. 
Propositions,  the  Sub-,  stated,  130. 
Proselj^e  baptism,  35. 

Maimonides  on,  88. 
Prosencha,  224. 
Protovangelium,  the,  76. 
Purification,  33. 

dispute  between  John's  disciples  and  the  Jews  concerning,  34. 
Qualifications  for  adult  baptism,  65,  66. 
Ramsey,  his  recent  discovery  in  Asia  Minor,  260. 
Ravenna,  mosaic  in,  259. 
Recommendation,  11. 
Re-baptism,  unnecessary,  112,  113. 

of  converts  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  an  open  question,  113. 
Regeneration  must  precede  baptism,  55. 
Regeneration,  baptismal,  scripture  used  in  proof  of  this  dodlrine,  54. 

"  bom  of  water  "  explained,  54. 

taught  by  Tertullian,  98. 

disproved,  103. 

in  the  early  Church,  257. 

among  many  of  the  Church  fathers,  53,  178. 

taught  by  Mormonism  and  Church  of  Rome,  53. 


300  INDEX. 

Remarks,  additional,  on  mode,  245. 
Remig^s,  his  skill  in  immersing,  211. 
Repentance  signified  by  John's  baptism,  37, 
Rice,  Dr.,  143. 

Ridgley's  "  Divinity,"  quoted,  106. 
Ritual  baptism,  32. 

discarded  by  the  quakers,  278. 
Robinson,  quoted,  159. 
Robinson,  Prof.  E.,  quoted,  150. 
Robinson,  Dr.,  "  Biblical  Researches,"  quoted,  159. 
Robinson,  Dr.  John,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  184. 
Romanism  no  worse  than  modalisni,  228. 
Romans  6 :  3,  4,  explained,  232. 
Roman  catecombs  representing  various  modes  of  baptism,  258. 

Sacred  literature,  various  meanings  of  baptizo  in,  156, 

Samaritans,  the,  baptism  of,  223. 

Samuel  anointing  David,  28. 

Saul,  spirit  departing  from,  28. 

Saul  of  Tarsus,  his  baptism,  220. 

Scapula,  132. 

Scarcity  of  water  in  ancient  Jerusalem  disproved,  213-215. 

Schaff,  Dr.,  "  History  of  the  Apostolic  Church,"  quoted,  158. 

"  Creed  of  Christianity,"  quoted,  250. 

"  The  Oldest  Church  Manual,"  quoted,  250. 

"Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  quoted,  256. 
Schlensner,  132. 

Scott,  Thomas,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  183,  184. 
Scripture  use  in  favor  of  modalism  considered,  229  flf. 
SSeal,  baptism  when  a,  51. 

Second  probation  taught  by  Joseph  Smith,  236. 
Septuagint  Version,  170,  171. 

Seven  different  meanings  of  the  word  baptizo  in  Scripture,  175. 
Seventeenth  century  the  epoch  in  modern  immersion,  250,  251. 
Siculus,  Diodorus,  quoted,  141, 
Sign,  baptism  when  a,  51. 
Siloam,  the  pool  of,  213,  215. 
Simon  Magus,  47. 

Smith,  Wm.,  his  description  of  ancient  bathing,  177. 
Smith,  Joseph,  his  peculiar  do(5lrine  of  baptism  for  the  dead,  236. 
Smith,  John,  the  founder  of  Armenian  Baptists,  250. 
Society  of  Friends,  the,  discard  water-baptism,  278. 


INDEX.  301 

Socrates,  140. 
Solomon's  pools,  214. 

Spiritual,  or  real,  baptism,  27,  208-210,  220,  221. 
Spiritual  baptism  a  prerequisite  for  Christian  baptism,  46. 
Spiritual  circumcision,  80. 
Sponsors,  117. 

Sprinkling,  in  Kzek.  36 :  25,  and  Isa.  52 :  15.  238. 

Sprinkling  and  pouring  the  exception,  and  immersion  the  rule,  in  the 
early  Church,  248. 

reversed  after  the  thirteenth  century,  249. 
Stackhouse's  "  History  of  the  Holy  Bible,  quoted,  108. 
Stanley,  Dean,  his  testimony  on  mode,  246. 
St.  Callistus,  catacomb  of,  260. 
Stephanas,  household  of,  baptism  of,  224. 
Stephanus,  132. 
Stockius,  132. 
Strabo,  quoted,  138,  139. 
Stjrx,  the  fabulous  river  of  Hades,  139. 
Sub-proposition  I.,  on  mode  discussed,  131. 
Sub-proposition  II.,  on  mode  discussed,  190. 
Sub-proposition  III,,  on  mode  discussed,  227. 
Subjedls  of  baptism,  the,  65. 
SuflFerings  spoken  of  as  a  "  cup,"  166-168. 
Suidas,  132. 

his  definition  of  baptizo,  133. 
Sybilline  oracles,  quotations  from,  137. 
Symbol,  a,  defined,  48,  49. 
Symbolic  ceremony  of  spiritual  baptism,  32. 
Syriac  version  of  Adls  16  :  33.  95. 
Syriac  version  of  baptizo,  183. 

Tacitus,  his  testimony  of  the  abundance  of  water  in  ancient  Jerusa- 
lem, 214. 
Talmud,  the,  on  proselyte  baptism,  88. 
Tatius,  Achilles,  quoted,  141. 
"  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  the,  251  flf. 
Tears,  baptism  of,  181. 
Telugu  Baptist  Mission,  the,  212. 
Tertullian  on  infant  baptism,  98. 

his  use  of  baptizo,  180. 
Testimony  of  Church  fathers  on  infant  baptism,  97. 
Testimonies,  historical,  on  mode  in  ancient  Church,  245. 


302  INDEX. 

Theocracy,  circumcision  necessary  to  membership,  78. 
Theologians,  eminent,  their  testimonies  on  baptizo^  183  flf. 
Theseus,  136. 

Thorn's  estimate  of  the  number  baptized  by  John,  195. 
Three  thousand,  the  baptism  of,  207  flf. 

was  it  real  or  ritual  ?  208-210. 
Tiber,  the,  138. 
Timon,  the  man-hater,  140. 

Timothy's  circumcision  a  prudential  conciliation,  94. 
Titus  refused  circumcision  by  Paul,  94. 
Tracy,  Dr.,  his  testimony  on  baptizo,  184,  185. 

Trail,  Dr.,  his  testimony  of  the  abundance  of  water  iu  ancient  Jerusa- 
lem, 214. 
Transition  of  meaning  of  baptizo  from  secular  to  sacred,  148  fl. 
Transition  age,  from  childhood  to  manhood,  109. 

from  circumcision  to  baptism,  112. 
Translation,  an  incorre<5t,  influence  on  art,  205,  206. 
Transmission  of  inherited  depravity  upon  our  offspring,  115. 
Trine  immersion,  247,  257, 

in  the  Didache,  254. 

Uniform  mode  of  baptism,  a,  never  adopted  or  practiced  in  the  history  of 
the  Christian  Church,  245. 

tends  to  Romanism,  228. 

disproved  by  the  "  Teachings  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  «5i. 

disproved  by  the  various  meanings  of  baptizo,  131. 

disproved  by  Bible  examples  of  baptism,  190. 

disproved  by  the  teachings  of  scripture,  227. 

disproved  by  Church  histor>',  245. 

disproved  by  Christian  art,  258. 
United  Brethren  Church,  the,  on  mode  of  baptism,  121. 

her  laxity  in  enforcing  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  267. 
Universality  of  immersion  impossible,  263,  264. 

Via  Ostiensis  at  Rome,  205. 

Vicarious  faith,  107. 

Vote  on  mode  of  baptism  by  Westminister  Assembly,  250. 

Vulgate,  the,  leaves  baptizo  untranslated,  183. 

Wahl,  132. 

Washburn,  Dr.,  his  testimony  on  mode  of  baptism  in  Oriental  Church,  248. 

Washing,  the  Hebrew  word  for,  172. 


INDEX.  303 

Washings  among  the  Jews,  139,  157  ff,  158-160. 

mode  of,  in  Japan,  158. 
"  Washings,  divers,"  160. 

Water,  blood,  or  ashes,  the  symbolizing  elements  in  ritual  baptism,  33. 
Water  in  ancient  Jerusalem  plenty,  214. 
Water  baptisms,  36. 
Watson,  Richard,  on  baptism,  58,  59. 

his  testimony  on  baptizo,  186. 
Wesley,  John,  favored  infant  baptism,  71. 
Westminister  Confession  on  baptism,  58, 
Westminister  Assembly  of  divines  vote  on  mode,  250. 
Whose  children  are  proper  subjedls  for  baptism  ?  115,  116. 
Wilderness,  the,  where  John  baptized,  193. 
Williams,  Canon,  his  testimony  of  the  abundance  of  water  in  ancient 

Jerusalem,  215. 
Wilson,  Robert,  quoted,  202. 
Wilson,  Captain,  his  testimony  of  the  abundance  of  water  in  ancient 

Jerusalem,  215. 
Woodbridge's  "  Universal  Geography,"  quoted,  264. 
Woolsey's  "  History  of  Baptism,"  quoted,  105. 

Xavier,  Francis,  his  skill  in  baptizing,  212. 
Xenophon,  148. 

Young,  "  Night  Thoughts,"  quoted,  244. 

ZwiNGLiAN  sense  of  baptism  too  narrow,  48. 


SCRIPTURE  INDEX. 


Genesis  i:i 50 

Genesis  7:2 84 

Genesis  8:20 84 

Genesis  15:6 145 

Genesis  17:7 76 

Genesis  17:9-14 59 

Genesis  17:14 60 

Genesis  18:4 172 

Genesis  43:31 172 

Exodus  4:24-27 105 

Exodus  14:31 168 

Exodus  18:25,26 197 

Exodus  28:38 84 

Exodtxs  29:17 172 

Exodus  30:17-21 33 

Exodus  31:3 27 

Leviticus  8:6 33 

I,eviticus  10:16 85 

lycviticus  14:  2-9 33 

I,eviticus  17:30 85 

Numbers  8:6,  7 33 

Numbers  11 :  17 —    28 

Numbers  19:17-19 33 

Numbers  19:18 163 

Numbers  27:18 2S 

Deuteronomy  21:1-9 34 

Deuteronomy  29:10-12 Si 

I.  Samuel  8:  i 197 

I.  Samuel  15:  22,  23 281 

I.  Samuel  16 :  13 28 

II.  Kings  5  :  14 171 

Psalms  26 : 6 33 

Psalms  29:  10 179 


Psalms  51 :  7 172 

Psalms  51 :  7 238 

Psalms  73:  13 ^ 172 

Psalms  124:  4,  5 166 

Proverbs  4:  14, 15 49 

Proverbs  22:6 74 

Ecclesiastes  12:13 ^^^ 

Isaiah  1:16 172 

Isaiah  4:4 29 

Isaiah  4:4 172 

Isaiah  21:4 174 

Isaiah  44:3 240 

Isaiah  52:15 238 

Isaiah  55:  i 54 

Jeremiah  2:13 54 

Jeremiah  2:22 172 

Jeremiah  4:14 172 

Jeremiah  5:14 29 

Ezekiel  36:25 54 

Ezekiel  36:25 238 

Ezekiel  39 :  25  flf. 35 

Ezekiel  36:25,26 180 

Daniel  4:33 171 

Daniel  5:1-6 ,.  174 

Joel  2  :  28,  29 260 

Zechariah  13 :  i 35 

Malachi  3  :  2 29 

Matthew  1:18 50 

Matthew  3:11 28 

Matthew  3:11 39 

Matthew  3: 11 54 

Matthew  3:11 199 

Matthew  3  :  16 198 


305 


306 


SCKIPTUIIE  INDEX. 


Matthew  3:5,6 192 

Matthew  3:5.6 ; I95 

Matthew  5:29 204 

Matthew  9:  17 204 

Matthew  10:22 50 

Matthew  10:32,33 274 

Matthew  17:27 204 

Matthew  20:21,22 181 

Matthew  20:22 165 

Matthew  21:1 204 

Matthew  23:25 35 

Matthew  24:38 204 

Matthew  25:31-33 50 

Matthew  25:46 50 

Matthew  27:24 34 

Matthew  28:19 45 

Matthew  28:19 46 

Matthew  28:19 5i 

Matthew  28:19 269 

Mark  i :  4 192 

Mark  i :  9.  41 

Mark  i :  9 199 

Mark  i :  9 200 

Mark  i :  9 201 

Mark  7  :  2,  4 159 

Mark  7 :  4 149 

Mark  7:4 157 

Mark  7  :  4 162 

Mark  7 : 4 163 

Mark  7:4 164 

Mark  7  :  4,  8 187 

Mark  10:38.. 165 

Mark  19:  3S 166 

Mark  15  :  15 50 

Mark  15  :  25-28 50 

Luke  2:4-7 50 

Luke  2:42 108 

Luke  3:21 273 

Luke  11:38 157 

Luke  11:38 159 

Luke  11:38 162 


Luke  11:38 163 

Luke  12:50 165 

Luke  19:30 42 

Luke  24:5-7 50 

John  1:35-40 46 

John  2  :  6 159 

John  3  :  5 34 

John  3  :  5 54 

John  3  :  5 241 

John  3  :  16 50 

John  3  :  22,  23 46 

John  3  :  23 192 

John  3  :  25 34 

John  4  :  I,  2 45 

John  4 :  10 54 

John  7:37,38 54 

John8:44 49 

John  II :  32 201 

John  13  :  13 50 

John  14 :  15,  24 50 

John  14:  16,  17,  26 50 

John  15  :  5 50 

John  19:33 • 50 

John  19 :  41 42 

John  19:41,42 50 

John  20 :  4,  5 201 

Acts  1:5 164 

Acts  1:9,11 50 

Acts  2:2-4 50 

Acts  2:3 29 

Acts  2:i7flf 241 

Acts  2:38 46 

Acts  2:38,41 210 

Acts  2:46 96 

Acts  2:47 77 

Acts  5:42 96 

Acts  7:38 77 

Acts  8:9-23 47 

Acts  8:12,  16 223 

Acts  8:38,39 218 

Acts  9:18 2ig 


SCRIPTURE   INDEX. 


507 


Acts  10:47 222 

Acts  II :  15,  16 „ 221 

Acts  12:7 219 

Acts  I5:i5..,.> 93 

Acts  15:19 93 

Acts  16:15 94 

Acts  16:15 96 

Acts  16:15 223 

Acts  16:33 95 

Acts  16:33 223 

Acts  17:11 78 

Acts  18:8 223 

Acts  18:24-26 40 

Acts  19:1-7 40 

Acts  19:2-5 37 

Acts  19:4 38 

Acts  19:5 60 

Acts  19:5 224 

Acts  22:16 54 

Acts  26:10 84 

Acts  28:3,4 219 

Romans  2  :  28,  29 60 

Romans  2 :  28,  29 80 

Romans  3  :  i 104 

Romans  3  : 3,  4 104 

Romans  4 : 9-12 60 

Romans  4: 9-12 80 

Romans  4 :  11 87 

Romans  6: 3,  4 238 

Romans  6  : 3-11 49 

Romans  6 : 3,  4 232 

Romans6:4 235 

Romans  8  :  13 49 

Romans  10: 9,  10 274 

Romans  12 :  2 49 

Romans  12: 4,  5 50 

Romans  14: 3 122 

Romans  14 : 5 122 

Romans  15  :  25 84 

T.  Corinthians  i :  13 60 

I.  Corinthians  i :  14, 16 224 


I.  Corinthians  i :  16 94 

I.  Corinthians  i :  16 96 

I.  Corinthians  7 :  14 83 

I.  Corinthians  7: 14 116 

I.  Corinthians  8 : 6 49 

I.  Corinthians  8 : 6 50 

I.  Corinthians  8 : 8 122 

I.  Corinthians  10:  i,  2 168 

I.  Corinthians  10:  i,  2 181 

I.  Corinthians  10 :  2 60 

I.  Corinthians  10:  25 122 

I.  Corinthians  10:  29 12S 

I.  Corinthians  12 :  13 30 

I.  Corinthians  12: 12,  13 50 

I.  Corinthians  15  :  29 235 

I.  Corinthians  15:  29 236 

I.  Corinthians  15 :  42-44 50 

II.  Corinthians  6:  14,  15 49 

Galatians  3 :  7 76 

Galatians  3 :  14 76 

Galatians  3:  17 83 

Galatians  3  :  26-29 49 

Galatians  3  :  27 31 

Galatians  3  :  27 - 273 

Galatians  3  :  29 "jj 

Galatians  4 87 

Galatians  4 : 4 92 

Galatians  5 :  24 49 

Kphesians  2 :  14 77 

Bptesians  4 : 5 241 

Ephesians  4 :  22,  24 234 

Ephesians  4 :  27 49 

Ephesians  5 :  11 49 

Philippians  3 :  3 60 

Philippians  4 :  13 50 

Colossians  2  :  11,  12 80 

Colossians  2 :  II,  12 87 

Colossians  2 :  II,  12 235 

Colossians  2:12 232 

Colossians  2 :  12 237 

Colossians  2:12 238 


308 


SCRIPTURE   INDEX. 


Colossians  2  :  16 123 

Colossians  3 :  11 94 

I.  Thessalonians  5  :  21 228 

I.  Timothy  3 : 4 96 

I.  Timothy  12 :  13 149 

II.  Timothy  4:  i 50 

I'itus  3 :  5 54 

Titus  3 :  5 241 

Hebrews  3 :  4 206 

Hebrews  6:  2 23 

Hebrews  9:  10 23 

Hebrews  9:  10 33 

Hebrews  9: 10 187 

Hebrews  9:  10 160 

Hebrews  9 :  13 34 

Hebrews  9:  13 176 

Hebrews  9:  13  238 

Hebrews  10 :  12 50 

Hebrews  10:  22 238 

James  4 :  7 49 


I.  Peter  i :  2 239 

I.  Peter  3: 19 236 

I.  Peter  3  :  21 49 

I.  Peter  3:21 229 

I.  Peter  3:21 283 

II.  Peter  i :  20 228 

I.  John  2 : 1,  2 50 

I.  John  2 :  15,  16 49 

I.  John  3 :  8-10 49 

^  I.  John  4 :  15 275 

»  I.  John  5 :  3 282 

I.  John  5:  6 230 

I.  John  5:6 231 

Revelation  4 :  8 50 

Revelation  21 : 6 54 

Revelation  22 :  17 54 

APOCRYPHA. 

Judith  12:  7 176 

Kcclesiasticus  34 :  « 176 


Date  Due 

F 

r 

Mr  ^  t  '»' 

f 

Mr  2  5  '4 

) 

Wly  2     '4 

^ 

NO  1  3  -50 

NU 

JFRaa-a 

pw 

f 

